Tough Love
by Wunduful-White-Rappa-15
Summary: When an odd American exchange student moves over to Japan to begin taking part in the family business, how will the boys of Ouran react? The host club is just starting up, and this girl is definitally planning on crashing the party! What will happen? Keep reading to find out! MorixOC
1. Chapter 1

The morning of April 1st, 7:30 am.

I woke up in a dimly lit room, my memory fuzzy.

_Where am I...? _

Then I realized. I was in my dad's new house, in Japan. Since my mind still hadn't quite cleared, I went through what I knew about my life currently.

_My name is Rebekah Dybowski; I'm a foreign exchange student living with my dad in Japan. I'm going to transfer to Ouran Academy form my second year of high school. My dad is a wealthy business man who also happens to be a chairman of a large security company. He works with weapons and security systems. Today is Monday, April 1st, 2012. My plane came in late last night. I start school on the 9th. I'm taking a tour today. I miss my family, but I'm happy to be here, and I'm starting a vlog so that they can keep track of me while I'm here... _

By now my mind had cleared and I remembered everything. I sat up in bed and put my elbow on my knee. My head was heavy, so I held it while I let my eyes adjust to what little light was filtering through my window. Finally, I stretched until my muscles ached and looked at my clock. The numbers were glowing a soft green in the dim light of my room, reading 9:30 in block numbers. I groaned, the tour was in an hour and I had to get ready and presentable.

Dragging my sorry butt out of bed, I grabbed a shirt and some shorts, not caring what they looked like, and went down the hall to the upstairs bathroom. Though our family was pretty rich, we preferred not to flaunt it, so our house was pretty much a normal sized house for an American family. When I got into the bathroom, I opened the window, lowered the blinds, turned on the fan and took a good look at myself in the mirror.

I've never really thought I was all that pretty, but I'm not ugly or anything. I have brown hair, roughly shoulder length, and it's fairly manageable. It's a nice color, I'll admit I really like it. My eyes are blue, and depending on what I wear and on my makeup they can be anywhere from sky blue to stormy day gray. My complexion is really smooth for a teenager- I've never really gotten that much acne, so my face is fairly smooth. It's peppered with soft freckles too. I smiled to myself as I turned on the shower. _I guess I'm pretty average, eh...?_

When I was done, about 20 minutes later, I stepped into my random outfit which, to my surprise, matched pretty well. Grabbing my pile of dirty clothes and my sweater, I marched back down the hall with an orange and yellow striped draped over my soaked head. Back in my room I threw my clothes in the hamper and flopped onto my window seat. Rubbing my mane with the towel, I picked up the admissions guide for Ouran. The people there spoke a lot of English, which is great for me because that meant they wrote things in English as well. Though I could speak a good amount of Japanese and understand just as much, I still couldn't read it. Flipping through it, I was filled with that bubbly feeling I got when I first received the guide.

The campus looked gorgeous! I couldn't believe it was a _school_ when I first saw it! For a girl like me, vlogging about my life in a beautiful place like this is pretty much living the pre-career dream! It was a great way for me to start off my life as a photojournalist. The buildings were beautiful, and the grounds are covered in the most amazing landscape I've ever seen! Japan had become my favorite place to be and take pictures. However, I was sure that it was even more spectacular in person...

And I was going to that place today!

Suddenly filled with new inspiration, I sprinted to the bathroom and grabbed my brush. Throwing my hair up in a ponytail, I slapped on some makeup and leapt down the stairs, two at a time.

"Asa no hizashi! Anata wa yoku nemuremashita ka?" My ex-marine of a father was frying hash browns in the pan on the oven for breakfast.

Without thinking, I replied, "Good morning to you as well! I slept very well thank you!"

"That's very good!" He said, "Your Japanese is almost as good as mine! Though I would have preferred if you had replied in the language." He smiled at me and tossed me the keys from the counter. "Go start the car for me? We're taking the hash browns to go, otherwise we'll be late!"

"Late for what? We have another half hour before we have to be at the school!" I replied as I caught the keys and put on my shoes.

"I have to stop to get something from the supermarket for lunch. Otherwise we'll go hungry after the tour!" "Dad," I whined, "why can't we just go to a restaurant or something?"

"Because we have to go get you fitted for a uniform right after that, remember?"

I grimaced. _That's right_, I thought, _the school has uniforms_. Pale yellow dresses, with white accents and a red little bow on the neck. They were definitely not my sort of dresses. "Do I have to wear one dad...?"

"Yes you do, unless the manual says otherwise, which it doesn't."

"Aw man… Okay, I'll go. But it's on our way home, you can drop me off and I'll do it. That way you can get to that business tea faster."

The school just so happened to be only 3 miles away from our quaint home by the scenic route. I grabbed my cell phone off of the bookshelf in the living room and also grabbed a couple books that I hadn't read yet. Once I stuffed the books in my bag and my cell in my pocket, I also grabbed my camera off the electronics desk we have and my sketch pad from the table in the dining room as well. After all, what a camera can't capture, a drawing can.

Once I had everything I needed, or what I thought I needed, I ran out to the car and started it. We didn't have a Rolls Royce or anything like that; in fact, when we moved, we brought our 2012 Chevy Malibu with us. Like I said earlier, we weren't into that whole 'we're rich let's get everything that's super expensive' thing. In fact, we sort of despised it. Either way, it left us more money for other things. Like scuba trips!

But that's off topic. Back to how I fell in love.

I started the car and went back inside. Dad had the hash browns on plates already and so I grabbed his bag and went back out to the car. I set down his bag by my feet and switched the radio over to CD. Though I love J-Pop, Maroon5 and Coldplay still hold a special place in my heart! When he got out to the car I was totally ready to go. I was completely prepared for the day ahead.

"Is that really what you're wearing to a school as classy as Ouran? Remember, there are going to be people there that you'll need to impress, perhaps no students today, but _adults_."

I realized my mistake and went back inside to change into a more formal summer dress; one with cherry blossoms crawling up the side.

I also decided that a regular ponytail was in no way suited for such an occasion, so I quickly did my hair. I needed to look good. Classy. Rich. And still casual in my attire.

Luckily, that didn't mean heels.


	2. Chapter 2

Like I said, the school was really close by, and I was correct to assume that the grounds were more gorgeous in person than in the admissions guide. We parked the car in the visitors' lot and walked up to the school. After I had changed clothes, I looked formal enough that I look like the daughter of a first class company's chairman, which is the impression we wanted to leave.

We went straight for the student services office to get started on our tour. There was a man standing there, ready to meet us; I believe he was the chairman. He shook my dad's hand and introduced himself, and then shook my hand as well. He was quite... melodramatic, really. He took my hand, kissed it, and bowed deeply. On a different note, you'd think my dad would be a bit peeved, but they're pretty good friends and he was okay with it. When all the dramatics were over, he ushered us down a grand hallway and showed me all the different places I'd need to know about. He explained where all the different areas of the office were, where the gym was (which I had opted out of), where the mess hall was, the music rooms, library rooms, everything. Lastly, he showed my where my classroom would be.

My dad encouraged me to look around while they did the paper work, so I went back into my classroom. I thought it was a really beautifully built room, so I sat down in the middle of the room and started to sketch it out. I grabbed a pencil and worked on the outline of all the desks, the board, the windows, and the details on the walls. By the time I had started on the little things, like shading it in, the chairman and my father were done with the paper work. Again the melodramatic man shook and kissed my hand, but this time he talked to me a little more.

"I simply cannot wait to have you here, Rebekah! I have a feeling you're going to love it. And I'm sure you'll look like such a princess in that school uniform of yours!" I groaned to myself at the mention of the uniform that I hated, and he continued speaking to me in his sing song voice, "Oh and don't ever be afraid to come to me with anything you need to say! In fact-" He pulled out a rose from a nearby vase and bowed again, "call me your uncle, so many people do. I want you to feel perfectly at home here at Ouran, and I intend to help you do just that!"

"Of course! Thank you very much for all your kindness Mister... Uh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've forgotten your name..."

"Call me Uncle Suoh. Please!"

"Of course, thank you Uncle Suoh." I smiled sweetly and shook his hand again.

As we finished the goodbyes and headed out to the car, my father turned to me, "Do you like the school? Do you think you'll be happy here?"

"I think I will, yeah! I can't wait for tomorrow! I'm going to have to vlog to the family about this..."

"Oh, you and your video blogging! I still don't quite understand what the goal of that is, but okay!"

"Whatever dad. Anyway, what were you saying about those two boys earlier?" He'd mentioned on the way here that there were some people I'd have to stay on even ground with.

"Oh that's right I nearly forgot! Two boys, Haninozuka Mitskuni and Morinozuka Takashi, who's families are very important to our business, I'm going to ask you to make sure you keep on good terms with them. You don't have to be friends with them, but try not to make them your enemies."

"Right, of course. I'll keep that in mind." We grabbed some lunch and then dad dropped me off at the local tailors'. I walked in and took a moment to take in their extravagant waiting area. The woman at the receptionist's desk was on the phone, but smiled at me and mouthed that she'd be with me in a minute. I smiled back and sat down.

After a minute or so, she hung up the phone and stood up. "Ms. Dybowski?" she asked sweetly.

"That's me, yes. I'm here for a uniform fitting." She smiled and ushered me through a curtain covered doorway and into a spacious changing room. She had me strip down to my underwear and wait while she brought in three dresses, identical in design but differently sized. First, she had me try on the medium sized dress, and looked me up and down, taking in tight spots and loose ones. It was really tight in the chest, and she had me take it off to slip on the next size up. Sadly, most Asian girls didn't have much of a bust, and I was a bit of an exception to that.

Once I had the biggest of the three on, which fit well in the arms and chest, she walked around me, pinning up areas that were loose or ill-fitting. When she was done, she spun me so I could see myself in the mirror. It was actually a cute outfit once it was on. I smiled to myself. I looked pretty good actually! It would look even better once she'd sewn it up.

I smiled at the girl and expressed my thanks. She carefully slipped it off me and let me re-dress. I grabbed my wallet, which I always kept on me, out of my bag and paid her for her work, and put down the advance pay for the dress and accessories themselves. Then I left.

Luckily for me, home wasn't that far away, so I took the scenic route home. Once I was there, I threw a sweater and some shorts on and took my lunch to the living room. Sitting cross-legged on the couch, I grabbed my laptop and dug into my sub sandwich. I checked my facebook, e-mail, and then logged into my YouTube account. _ThatTransferStudent5_ popped up on the screen, and I went to my channel. I set up the laptop so that my face was visible to the webcam and (when I was done eating) pressed record. "Hey family and other creepy watchers! This is my second vlog, my first being on the plane ride here- though I deleted that one on accident... and it is a week before I start school! I just finished up a tour at the new school I'm going to, Ouran Academy, and it is beautiful! I can't wait for Monday! Anyway, I don't know if I'm going to be able to deal with the uniform, I don't like it all that much. At least, not yet... Dad also has me on business. I'm going to be in the same class as a couple of boys that are family associates, and he wants me to be cool with them. I'm not sure how well this is going to go. Other than that, I really like Japan! Though the whole yen thing is complex and a bit tough to grasp, but I'm figuring it out. It never ceases to confuse me how three payments of fifty thousand yen is the equivalent of six hundred thousand yen! It's mind boggling really... All complexities aside, I'm going to be in class Two-B, my first day is eight thirty am next Monday morning. It's sort of like elementary school back in the states to be honest; we stay in one class room for all the different subjects, except for our electives. It's crazy! But I like it. That way once I make a couple friends I don't have to go to other classes and make other friends. It's pretty simple actually."

I sighed. I was fairly bored. I needed something to do. "Well, I guess I'm gonna go now, I'm going to see if I can make some friends or something... Peace off!" I clicked the end recording button and stopped the video.

The time was 11:58. I changed into jeans, let my hair down over my face, and decided to walk back down to the school- so I texted my dad that I was doing so. The kids who were there had spring break currently, so no one was there. I wandered around aimlessly for a little bit, basking in the beautiful architecture, before I decided to head to the library rooms. When I got there however, they were all locked. I thought for a moment, and decided that the music rooms were my next best bet. I remembered that the chairman had taken us to the upper floor of the south hall, the north wing if I remembered correctly...

I did remember! And I recalled how to get there perfectly, thank goodness. The first room was open, but completely empty. There was a tambourine on a table in the middle of the room, but that was really all there was... It was really sort of creepy. The next room was locked, which really just annoyed me, because I would have loved to find a guitar. Finally, I made my way to the third music room. It was open, and I turned the handle carefully, not wanting to find another creepy decorating job... But when I opened the door, I found two boys talking. The first one was a somewhat tall boy, and very handsome at that. He had dark hair and glasses, and he looked like a very intelligent boy, but still very calm and reserved. The second seemed to be a bit of a spaz, but a really cute spaz if anything. He had golden blonde hair and the richest shade of purple I've ever seen for eyes. It seemed like they were agreeing about something and I'd walked in just in time to witness the handsome blonde boy jumping around in joy, the other shaking his head at him. They both looked at me and abruptly stopped their discussion when I walked in the room.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I smiled shyly at them, "I didn't mean to intrude- I only wanted to find something to do. I'll just leave then…"

The violet visional boy strode over to me, carrying a rose delicately and bowed to me, "Oh but my dear do not apologize, in fact, stay with us!" He said in a sweet, dripping tone, "You have only caused us greater joy in the fact that we are lucky enough to see your beautiful face here today, even if only for a minute." He took my hand and kissed it in a show of immense grandeur. He reminded me of someone I knew... But at the time I couldn't figure who for the life of me! He continued in his princely voice, "My name is Tamaki, I'm a first year student here, but that is of no importance- who are you my dear?" He smiled at me, revealing a set of beautiful, perfect teeth.

"My name is Rebekah," I said, blushing slightly, "Rebekah Dybowski."

"Stop annoying our guest Tamaki. This is our first customer and you're already scaring her!" Glasses spoke up for the first time since I'd entered the room. I got the feeling he'd been observing me... "Either way, back off- I don't think she's here for you. Like she said, she's looking for something to do." He lifted his chin slightly and looked at me. When he shifted, the glare of the overhead lights disappeared from his glasses, and revealed a pair of brown eyes, very deep and wise, and very cold.

"I'm so sorry, my dear, is that true? Am I intimidating you?" He inched his face closer to mine and put his hand under my chin.

"Well, you aren't intimidating, but I don't really like being this close to a stranger. It's somewhat annoying." For some reason, this really broke his heart... I wasn't sure what it was but it was tearing at the back of my mind that he reminded me of someone so very badly...

"I'm sorry about him; I really can't leave him out in public... I'm Kyouya Otori, a first year, by the way. I believe your family has a bit of a hand in my family's private police force."

I focused my attention on the tall, dark boy in front of me and smiled as I remembered, "Of course, Otori! How did I not recognize you? My dad showed me a picture of you and your family when he went to dinner at your house!"

"That's right; it was a very enjoyable night for us all. I'm glad he could come. May I ask though, you didn't seem to be with him at the time, have you just moved here?"

"Actually, yes I have. I just finished really unpacking on Friday! I'll be starting school here Monday, with all of you."

"That's wonderful news. I am sure you'll have a very good experience here. Oh, I'm sure you're wondering why we're here when school's out..."

"AH- KYOUYA! That is a wonderful question, which this lovely princess may have been asking herself! Why are we here you ask? Why, let me tell you!" As Tamaki interrupted Kyouya and strut around making a show, he explained to me the whole reason he and Kyouya were lounging in music room 3. "You see my dear- last year I had the genius idea to start a host club! What is a host club? Why it's only the joining of all the most handsome boys in the school who come together to entertain gorgeous young ladies such as yourself! It's our main purpose in life to make you ladies happy! So," He leaned in close to my face again, "will you come visit us soon?"

"Not going to plan on it, to be honest. Besides... You only have two people."

"That, my dear princess, is not true! We have four active members currently, and two who will be joining next year!"

"So you can really only entertain about 12 girls at a time. Maximum."

"Well, yeah, but… I guess we'll have to work in shifts, maybe?"

Before I could snap out another remark to this overly dramatic show off, the door opened behind me. A couple of boys entered, stepping in exact synchronization. Obviously twins, they both had red hair, light brown eyes, and wore a middle school uniform. I assumed that these were the boys Tamaki had said would be joining next year. They gasped when they saw me, then started off on the blonde beauty.

"What the hell is this!? Come on, Suoh," the one on the right said. _Did he say Suoh?_

"You said that it would only be us 6! That it was," Continued the one on the left. _That name... It's itching in the back of my mind; I know I've heard that name...!_

"Just a meeting for the members!" I snapped back to the present, _Amazing, _I thought, _perfect unison...!_

"Hikaru, Kaoru! Welcome! I apologize for the confusion, you see; this young lady here was simply roaming the halls and happened upon us. Why, it's our last before school meeting anyway, outside the training! Why not advertise our new club?"

Again, in perfect unison, they answered, "Oh... Well, okay then. We guess it's okay..."

"Well okay then! We'd better get started soon anyway. What time is it now? Almost one? Well good, that's when I wanted to get started. Now we'll just wait here for Haninozuka and Morinozuka and we can-"

"Wait," I interrupted, "Did you say Haninozuka and Morinozuka?" My brain did a little flip. My father had mentioned them, and even shown me a picture of the Haninozuka family, including, of course, Mitskuni. Though, I haden't seen Morinozuka Takashi yet, so I'd definitally be sticking around to meet him.

"Yes, that's right, do you know them?"

Kyouya interjected before I could answer. "The Dybowski security firm has always worked closely withe the Hani and Morinozuka families for years. Their businesses compliment each other quite well, so they try to maintain a constant relationship."

Tamaki pouted slightly, "How d'you know all a dis stuff?" He asked in a babyish voice. Then his face turned into one of thought. "Well, that's actually right isn't it. Now that I think of it, I've often seen the Dybowski label close by the Haninozuka and Morinozuka family crests!" There was a slight creak from behind the twins. "Oh, well speak of the devil! Here they are now!"


	3. Chapter 3

The boys who came in the door were just as stunning in looks as the other boys here, if not more so. The first I saw was a boy who appeared to be in elementary school, but wore a high school uniform. He had pretty blonde hair messed up boyishly, and big, beautiful brown eyes. Though the only picture I'd seen him in (other than the blurry pictures of him practicing in their own private dojo) was one taken of the family over a year ago, there was no mistaking this boy. He was Mitskuni Haninozuka, a martial arts master. However, you'd never know by the adorable babyish smile on his face, and the pink stuffed rabbit he held that he was actually the single most deadly being on the planet.

The boy next to him must be Morinozuka. Takashi if I remember correctly. He was the other business associate my dad wanted me to get along with. Apparently his family's name isn't as big as Mitskuni's, but the families are very close, and so we should keep the future in mind.

Upon analysis, he was extremely handsome. Perhaps even more so than the other boys. He had a mop of black hair styled messily, misty gray eyes, and a tall, thin frame- he was also obviously very athletic. On another hand though, he was expressionless. Stoic really, no passion or spark on his face. But if you looked closely in his eyes, there was a whole new world in there to be discovered. _He may not show it,_ I thought to myself, _but he's very intellectual._

He looked down at me while I analyzed him bit by bit, and then peered back up at Haninozuka. I realized I must be staring, so I improvised.

I snapped my fingers and let out a relieved- "Takashi!" and palmed my forehead. _Hopefully if I pretend I was just trying to remember his name, I'll look less creepy_. I looked back at him and apologized, "I'm really sorry! I know your surname because of the family business, but I couldn't remember your first name for the life of me!" As I said it, something small, light, and energetic hit me in the back.

"Beeekah-chan! Hey I know all about you because your dad came and visited us once! He watched us practice in the dojo and stayed for dinner and played chess with me and Takashi! He beat me but nobody has ever beat Takashi before! Isn't that right Takashi?" Mitskuni was absolutely glowing with pride that he knew who I was. "Oh and your dad is bald. Is that on purpose or did it fall out?"

I laughed, I couldn't help it! He was just... so cute! I swung him over my shoulder, off my back and set him down in front of me so I could see him face to face. "Well, I know he came to visit you, he showed me the pictures. Your dojo looked really cool, and the scenery…! I wish I could've been there with my camera! As for chess, yeah... He's gotten a lot of practice by beating me, so I'd imagine he's pretty good at it by now." I glanced at Takashi, I could imagine him being good at chess. It's a game of intelligence, and those eyes looked very wise...

"What about being bald?" His eyes were open and innocent, adorable even.

"Well yeah, he's bald. He started to go bald when he was younger, but now he just shaves it all off. It's a pretty good look for him, compared to how he looks with hair..."

A deep voice caught my attention. Though he didn't say much, Morinozuka had a tone of voice that makes you stop dead and wonder. I started to pay attention... "What's this meeting about?" I had a feeling he didn't say much, and that this was all I'd hear from him today.

The rest of the 'meeting' composed of Tamaki bringing up ideas for cosplay, what they would serve their guests, and what sorts of things they could do to raise money- with the sporadic interjection from Kyouya. After a while, it just ended up where we 7 were just hanging out. I hung around for most of it, until I realized it was so late, almost 5:30, and decided to head home.

"Look, uh, you guys, this was really pretty fun- but I've got to run. Thanks for tolerating me, really. It was great."

The twins were the first to complain, "Aw come on, do you really have to go?"

Then Honey-senpai (I had adopted his pet name from Tamaki) with a, "But Bekah-chan you can't go now! It won't be as fun!"

Next to butt in was Tamaki, "Oh come now you can't leave so soon! It's only... Oh, I see. We've been here quite a while longer than I expected... Very well, I guess if you must leave us then that's that. Oh well!"

Though it made me a little bit sad, I knew I had to get home.

I smiled and waved as I reached the door, "I'll see you guys next week! Well, sorry Hikaru and Kaoru, not you guys, but I'll see you soon enough!"

As I walked down the hall, thinking of how I'd just spent four and a half hours with 6 boys that previously I hadn't even known, I realized something. I had just made 6 friends. Sure they were all guys, but I had expected I'd make more guy friends than girls anyway. I wondered what my dad would think about my being around 6 teenage boys for the last 4 and a half hours... He probably wouldn't be too happy... But whatever. That wasn't my problem. The real problem here was that I couldn't get him out of my head... Takashi Morinozuka... I giggled to myself. I was being stupid. I'd get over it by morning...

Right...?


	4. Chapter 4

When I got home at about 5:50 pm, my dad still wasn't home. Figures. Well, I might as well go get ready for bed. I slowly made my way up the staircase and to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Once my mouth was clean and my makeup was off, I changed into pajamas. It may be chilly out, I thought, but I'm wearing shorts and a tank. I walked over to my laptop and began my research. Though it's not like I'm doing full-scale background checks on them, I might as well find out who half these people are.

I began with Tamaki, the gorgeous spaz that really has my mind in a knot... But that knot still had an itch about who that kid reminded me of, so I had to look it up. After a few minutes of deep research, I found that he was the school chairman's son! 'Uncle Suoh' as he wants me to call him... It's totally uncanny how little they look alike, but just as crazy how alike they are! I also found out a bit of interesting news about his family, but I understand how it is to be in that situation, so I decided to forget about that part. Either way, he's got quite a story, so I'm guessing that the whole melodramatic cover up is somewhat of a self-conservative method or something... I don't know.

Then I moved onto Kyouya. I didn't know much about him, but he intrigued me. I recognized his name when we were at the club; in fact I went to one of the Otori hospitals that they own in order to get my vaccinations. I learned that their family deals a lot in medical supplies, resorts, hospitals, mainly medical stuff. The family had three sons, I saw them all and it was easy to decide that Kyouya was by far the most handsome, but his elder brothers were still very cute. Based on the system, and recognizing how well his brothers did in school, it's unlikely that Kyouya will ever be his father's successor unless he seriously impresses him. Over all though, Otori is insanely smart, so I'm not sure how he ended up joining up with Tamaki over the idea of a host club...

The twins were my next research topic. The family business is in clothing, I wondered how they'd do when they took it over... Apparently they've always kept to themselves (That's just what I gathered from hanging out with them though), and this whole host club thing will probably help them open up a bit. They're hard to tell apart though, they're nearly perfectly identical. Symmetrical in every single way. All of their pictures, and my own experience, prove that fact easily. The only difference I can see in them is that Hikaru parts his bangs on the right, and Kaoru parts his on the left. Other than that... Well, I'll learn.

Haninozuka Mitskuni. This kid is adorable, honestly, it's weird. Honey-senpai is the future head of the Haninozuka family, but at age 17, he still looks like he's in 5th grade! At any rate, I've seen records of his becoming a national champion at both Karate and Judo, and is probably fairly great at Kendo as well. It's said that he's the best fighter on the Haninozuka family's record. He's easily the most fearsome fighter in the world, but he adores cute things and sweets. He's sort of contradictory to himself...

Takashi Morinozuka... Such a pretty face. Really, I couldn't find much on him though. I found out that he's the national Kendo champion, and that he and Honey-senpai are actually cousins. It's odd to think about it... Though they're both very attractive, it's in two completely different ways. While Honey is sweet and boyish, Mori is... well... sexy and strong... There's really nothing else to say about him, which is sad; I'd like to know more about him, but I can't really change that.

By the time I'd finished what little research I could whip up, it was about 8:07. So after shutting down my laptop, I went upstairs to go to bed. Dad still wasn't home, but that's no big deal, he's often out late working. I wondered to myself if he'd be home tomorrow morning or if he's going to be gone for a couple days... He still wasn't used to having me in the house, so he often leaves for business and forgets to tell me. I'd be prepared.

As I got in bed and turned out the light, I thought about what had happened that day. It was crazy how fast everything had gone, how quickly everything went by, how quickly I was pulled into those eyes...

I shot up into a sitting position, shaking my head slightly to rid my mind of that thought. All I could do was try and reassure myself... _I mean, sure, Takashi is pretty, but for all I know, that's ALL he is! I've got to get over this stupid little crush, it's not like I even know the guy, honestly...! But still... Those gorgeous gray eyes..._

After I slapped myself around a bit, I flopped back down on my pillows and groaned. _What am I going to when I see him Monday? We're in the same year, and we have the same class... I'm bound to see him, am I going to be able to handle it!? Oh God... I don't know about this whole thing. Maybe I can just, sit in the back corner of the class and act natural...?_

Eventually I fell asleep, hoping I'd get over it. But I couldn't stop those selfish, stupid thoughts from forming in my head while I slept.


	5. Chapter 5

The worst sound ever made by a human is the sound of an alarm clock ringing at 6:30 in the morning.

Typically, if it were just another day of my life, I'd have set it for 5 and relished in the joy of hitting the snooze button 6 times; but that day was no ordinary day! It was, in fact, my first day in a Japanese school. My first day of cracking down on my Japanese reading lessons. The first day for me to make an impression on the students here, and more importantly- the boys. Of course, when I said that, I had a certain boy in mind...

I shook my head again, convinced that it would help me to get rid of the thoughts. _Maybe a shower will help me to clear my head..._I slide off my high-set bed and walked the foot and a half to my closet. I grabbed my uniform and it's accessories, still pretty much asleep. Walking to the bathroom, I debated whether I'd put on makeup today, but thought better of it. Though I'll probably put mascara on to frame my eyes, I didn't really want to do any more than that. I grabbed my towel off the hook on the back of the door and started the shower.

The shower didn't really work how I thought it would; Mori-senpai was still stuck fast in my mind.

I got dressed and rushed downstairs. Dad still wasn't home, so I threw some frozen waffles in the toaster and went back upstairs to do my hair. I didn't bother to put it up; I just dried it and let it hang in my face like yesterday afternoon. It's not that I'm shy- it's more so that I just like my hair down.

I heard the toaster pop downstairs and turned off the lights in the bathroom before I went down.

When I finished eating, I looked at the oven only to see a bright red 7:27 shining back at me and sighed. There was so much time left till school started, and I wasn't sure what to do with that time now, so I booted up my laptop and added a short little video to my vlog.

When I pressed the record button, I wasn't sure what to say; so I just started talking.

"Hey everybody… So today is April ninth, it is currently seven thirty-two am, and I am bored out of my mind. I don't really have anything else to do before getting ready for school, so I guess I'll just alert you guys to my current situation. Yesterday, as I told you all, I went on a tour of the school. What I didn't tell you was that I went back later in the day and met some students! They'd had the day off, but they were all there for a club meeting. I totally walked in on them without meaning to, but they let me hang out with them all day. While I was there, I actually met both the boys that dad had wanted me to be nice to, plus one more boy who's family is close to ours. They were all pretty cool, and all of them were very attractive… You see, they're starting a host club. It's where all these handsome boys come together to entertain girls. It's really cool actually, the whole goal of it is that they focus on each boy's personal characteristics and give them a 'type'.

"For example, there's a boy there, a blonde, who's totally self-righteous about his good looks. His name is Tamaki, and he really is handsome, but he says he's the princely type. In reality that just means that he's a total suck up to every girl who requests him. Well, I guess that's not the best example…

"Okay, here's a better one. Haninozuka Mitskuni. This boy is simply adorable! He is so dang cute, cute as a baby. However, I mean that sort of literally. Though he is seventeen years old, he only looks like he's in fifth grade! But that's the whole point of his type. He's what they call a Boy Lolita type.

"Either way, like I said it's really cool! I want to hang out with them more… They seem really fun! Plus they're really cool compared to the guys in the states. Okay, well, it's officially seven thirty-five, I have wasted a whole three minutes. Oh, here's an idea, I could go to the school and finish my drawing! Okay, good plan. Alrighty then- I'm going to get going. Arigato for watching!"

I hit the end button and shut down my laptop so I could get going. Again I packed my bag with some good books, a camera, my sketch pad, and grabbed my cell as well. My wallet was still in the zipper pocket inside. I checked my hair and uniform and ran out the door to get to the school. If I was lucky, I wouldn't get there till about 7:50, and then I could snap some pictures and work on my drawing before everyone else gets there.

When I got to the school, it was pretty quiet. There were very nice cars parked in the teacher lot, but there wasn't anyone walking around. I walked up to the front gate and pulled my camera out of my bag. _The campus is so gorgeous,_ I thought, _I don't even know where to start!_

I snapped a couple shots on my way in, and took up about 20 minutes doing so before I even got into the school. I stopped around in a couple of rooms to take some pictures there, and by the time I got to my classroom, the school was starting to fill up. It was about 8:20 at that point. I sat down in the same desk I used yesterday and continued my drawing by adding in the details a little more.

I kept sketching, but soon realized that once the desks were occupied, it would be harder to finish the shading on them. Since there were only three other people in the room, one of them behind me, I decided to incorporate one of the other students into the picture. He was sitting in the very front of the room, in the left-hand corner by the windows. Just so that I didn't miss the opportunity, I noted the shading on the desks now.

Then I worked the boy's outline into it. He sat almost perfectly still, almost like he knew that I was trying to draw him. It was a little eerie to me, but I accepted it. I was starting to add in the details of his school jacket when I heard a familiar voice. I lifted my head up from my hand, where it had been resting while I sketched, and saw someone getting up from the desk next to my model's seat. It didn't hit me why he seemed so familiar… I took in how short he was… And what that pink little fluff under his arm was… And I didn't quite realize why he was running towards me yelling "BEKAH-CHAAAAAN!"

Then it hit me. Correction- _he _hit me. That kid may be small, but Mitskuni sure had a tight squeeze of a hug! While he crushed my lungs, he talked to me rapidly in his little sing-song voice, "HEY Bekah-chan! Why are you here are you in our class are you staying here forever you look really good in your uniform why were you drawing Takashi?" His run-on sentences amazed me, _Did he even breathe!? _

I gasped out- "Mitskuni- I need, breath…!"

He didn't hear me though, "What's that Bekah-chan? Well are you going to answer my questio-"

Suddenly he was off me, hanging in the air from the arms of some beautiful monster. My mind was a bit fuzzy from the lack of oxygen it was getting, but I caught a "Mitskuni, she couldn't breathe."

I looked up at Mori-senpai in appreciation. "Thank….. Thank you, Mori…" While I caught my breath, I reviewed the questions Honey had asked me, and answered one at a time. "Yes, I'm in your class. I'm staying in this class until graduation. Thanks, but it's not my favorite... And I was drawing Takashi because I started it yesterday and I wanted to finish the picture. I was unaware, however, that it was Mori that I was drawing." I turned to Mori, who had set Honey down, and said, "Sorry Mori, if I'd realized it was you, I would have at least asked…"

He nodded at me, and Honey laughed like a little kid. "Oh, okay then Bekah-chan! You're fun, ya know that? Hey do you wanna sit by us in class?" He asked me, his eyes big.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. Are you sure?"

"Of course! It doesn't look like you have many friends yet so you can sit by us! Oh, you don't mind, do you Takashi?" Mori grunted slightly and stepped to the side as if to say 'Go right ahead'. Honey giggled and skipped back to the seats they were in earlier. "Come on Bekah-chan! It'll be fun!"

The class room was filling up rapidly, so I slipped past Mori-senpai and followed Honey quickly. It was 8:28 and kids were spilling into the class. Honey pushed me down into the seat that Takashi had been sitting in earlier, and took the seat to my right. A little flustered, I realized that the seat on Honey's other side was already filled. "Um, Honey?" I turned to him, "Where is Mori going to…?"

I heard a scraping sound behind me, and turned to see Mori pulling the chair out from under the desk behind me. "I'll sit here."

"Oh, okay then… Are you sure though? I know you and Honey are close, do you want to switch with me?"

He didn't answer me, but instead looked down at his desk and started unpacking his bag. I took that as a no. I turned back to my own things, and realized that there wasn't a teacher in the room yet, but that everyone was looking at someone at the front of the room. He was taking attendance. _He must be the class representative… I wonder if he knows who I am, he didn't call my name in accordance to alphabetic order, so maybe I'm on the bottom of the list…?_

I waited for my name to be called, but instead of reading my name out, he spoke to himself, "Ah….. Miss Dybowski… It appears…" He looked up at the class as if searching and raised his voice, "Miss Dybowski… uh, Rebekah?" I raised my hand and waved slightly, "Oh, there you are, very good. Class, it appears we've got a foreign exchange student in our class. Miss Dybowski is an American and doesn't read Japanese, so don't try passing her love notes." The class rep smiled as the students laughed slightly, "Thank you for joining us, Rebekah, I'm sure you'll feel right at home here."

As he continued with the announcements, I got a lot of weird looks from the other students. They all started to whisper and glance at me, wondering about 'if she can't read Japanese, can she speak it?' and all such nonsense. Obviously I understood everything, so I was, suffice to say, pretty peeved.

I had a feeling it would be a really long day.


	6. Chapter 6

It was amazing, the only class we didn't have together for the first half of the day were our electives- I took ceramics, and Honey and Mori took AP English (which, obviously, I didn't need). After we had gone through mathematics, science, and history lessons, we had homeroom. We weren't required; however, to stay _in_ the room, in fact, Mori had kendo meetings during homeroom. Mitskuni invited me to hang out with him while Mori was in his kendo meeting. I agreed, after all I'd never seen any real martial arts- at least not in person. We all walked together to the dojo. It was in a separate building from the school, so we got to enjoy a burst of fresh spring air on our way.

It was intriguing for me. Honey-senpai and I talked for a lot of it, but mostly we watched from the sidelines, sitting side-by-side on the thickly padded mats. Though the sport was vicious and sporadic- Takashi had a way about him that made his movements seem fluid. As far as I know, kendo fighters don't usually do that, from what I've seen they're usually quite, what's the word, mechanical maybe? But not Mori-senpai… It's like he could see what they were going to do next, he could read their minds, and he was a kendo genius of sorts… It was awe inspiring.

I guess Honey-senpai could read my thoughts through my eyes, because he nudged me with his elbow and winked at me, "He's really good at this, huh?" He smiled and giggled at me a little more, "Takashi's a great guy. He's really smart and kind, but he's never done anything much that doesn't have to do with me or his kendo team." Honey-senpai leaned back on his hands and I took a swig out of my water bottle, listening to him. "I wish he'd get out with someone other than me a little though… Hey, maybe you could take him on a date sometime Bekah-chan! It would be good for Takashi to get out with a girl! A bit of romance may do him well, and you two would be really cute!"

I spit up a little bit of the water I was trying to drink, chocking on the fact that he could obviously read my thoughts. _He's a telepath! He has to be! Or, something! How could he tell I like Mori-senpai!?_

I looked up at Mori, who was sparring currently, and saw his eyes flash to us when Honey said that. His eyes widened, and he let out a slight gasp, and suddenly he was on the mats. I didn't realize what had happened at first, but everyone in the room went silent.

"Takashi… He's never been hit before… What happened?" Honey was whispering to himself now, his eyes the size of a cake.

Mori-senpai was sitting dazed on the mat, the emptiness of shock showing openly through his protective mask. He sat back on his hands, obviously stunned, and Honey and I ran to his side.

"Mori-senpai, are you okay? What's wrong?" Honey knelt by his side, and I followed suit, but he just seemed to shy away from me. I didn't understand why…

"Takashi what happened? No one has ever gotten a point on you!" Honey looked up at the boy Takashi was sparring with, "You're Akio Hamacho right? You're a first year; you've only been in the kendo club since this spring's sign ups... That was last week…" He turned back to Mori, "Are you feeling okay Takashi?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Mori's deep voice rang out like a patient parent.

"Morinozuka! What happened out there?" Coach Kuroiwa exclaimed from the other side of the room, "And who's this girl? Is she your girlfriend? Did she distract you or something?" Mori jumped a little and twitched his head in a 'no way!' gesture, scooting away from me yet again.

I understood now, it was Honey's comment about us dating that made him freeze up! _I understand now,_ I thought, _but how had he heard that...? _"Uh, Honey?" I turned to him, suddenly anxious to get away from Mori, "I just remembered, I have some things to, uh, take care of… I'm gonna, uh, yeah, I'll see you at lunch…" As I rushed out of the dojo and back into the school, my head down, I could feel the blush blooming on my cheeks. It was a horrifying feeling, knowing how vulnerable I looked right now, but I couldn't figure out how to stop it!

As I hurried away, glancing back every once in a while before I turned back into the school, I took my cell phone out. Punching in the numbers rapidly, I prayed to myself- _please be available, please be available, please, please, please! _The phone rang a few times- making my heart beat even faster.

I was about to lose hope when I was rewarded with a "Hello, whaddya want…?"

"Majka!?" I half cried into the phone, "Majka I need to talk to you."


	7. Chapter 7

I love Majka. She is my best friend from back in the states, and I can't even do her loyalty justice. Back in Illinois, it's almost 1 in the morning, and she just got out of bed to console me. Plus, I have a feeling she was up late doing school work.

Either way, I explained to her the whole situation we'd just gone through, and how I felt about Mori, all the little details of how he'd reacted to what I'd said. I asked her why I was so horrified over all of this, because I sure didn't understand it myself.

I hadn't started crying- but my face was plenty red. _I have no reason to be disappointed... His whole life is Honey-senpai… Why should I want him to feel for me? He was probably just flustered… That's why he seemed so revolted, that's all… It's not that he was against it, just shocked… I hope…?_

And thankfully, Majka told me the same thing, which confirmed my hopes. But still, I couldn't help but think that he didn't like me… At all really…

I glanced down at my watch and realized that home room was almost over, and that I was sitting in the hallway with a pink face from my blush. Plus, adding to the horrible situation was the fact that I was sitting in plain view of the main hallway. Which meant that unless I pulled my act together, anyone could see me here; and that included any tall, handsome Kendo champions coming back from the dojo… I jumped up and ran into the closest room I saw.

_Thank _God_, I am lucky_! I thought. I had run smack dab into an empty girl's bathroom. I walked over to the mirror and inspected my face. The way my hair fell over my face covered most of my remaining blush, and my face itself wasn't all that bad anymore. I blew my nose with some toilet paper and splashed some water on my face to cool off a bit. I arranged my hair and walked back down the hallway to where I was sitting, and then turned into the main hallway to get back to my class.

I was walking pretty slowly, hoping that by the time I got back to class, my anatomy would have calmed down. I didn't expect it, but of course it happened…

"Bekah-chan there you are!" I turned around, my hair shifting to the slight breeze and blowing away from my face. I replaced it quickly. "We've been looking for you!" Honey ran towards me with a huge, innocent smile on his face.

Mori followed behind him, a slight blush still etched on his straight face, but he didn't look at me at all. He kept his eyes on Mitskuni. I didn't want to look at him, to draw the attention to my colored facial features, but I couldn't help it… Not quite. Honey looked into my eyes, and he must have seen the embarrassment, and knew what was up. I begged him silently not to say anything.

"Ya know Bekah-chan, you have really pretty blue eyes." There it was. I closed my eyes and prayed Mori hadn't heard and wanted to see too. "Maybe it's because of your uniform that they're so blue. Is that it Bekah-chan? I think you look really good in yellow."

I wanted to slap him. Right here, right now. I wanted to kill him for even mentioning my eyes in the first place. For betraying my embarrassment to Mori, not that he didn't know… I'm fairly sure you could tell just by looking at me that I was still shy about what had happened...

"He's right. They're really blue." Mori was standing behind Honey, looking me right in the eyes. Looking right into my grotesquely pink face.

"Well," I wasn't sure how else to respond, "Thank you, guys… Thanks a lot."

And so we walked to lunch, as if nothing had happened at all.


	8. Chapter 8

By the time lunch was over, the event at the dojo was unspoken of. Honey and I were joking around relentlessly about what sorts of epic tricks the twins could pull off if they set their minds to it. We came up with some pretty twisted stuff, things they would probably do, too!

We walked back to the class and sat down in our seats. We still had a couple minutes till we started into geography.

One of the boys in our class, who looked a little familiar, walked over to us and passed between Honey and I to get to his seat. I noticed that he did a bit of a double take though when he saw us.

Then I remembered where I'd seen him before, he was one of the bystanders at the dojo! I watched him out of my peripherals, while talking to Honey, as he sat down by his friends.

Just as I thought. He sat down and almost instantly began gesturing to us three. He looked very confused, and I eventually stopped talking to try and focus on their conversation.

"Bekah-chan…?" Honey and Mori noticed where I was looking and they both tried to tune into their conversation, but to no avail.

When one of his friends laughed and looked up at us, I turned my head and looked down to my sketchbook. I heard a scrape behind me, felt a shift in the air, and then heard some calm, heavy steps. The boys behind us had stopped their laughing and joking and were silent now. I could tell it had been Mori-senpai who'd gotten up, and I could only imagine what his face looked like right now. I smiled to myself, knowing they must be intimidated. I remembered what he'd looked like when he was sparring. He was very tranquil, yes, but in another way- horrifying.

"You'd do good to keep your opinions and gossip to yourselves. If you have something you want to know," He slammed his hand down on the desk by the boys, and leaned in close to them, "_Ask _someone, and leave us alone."

The boy who walked past us first spoke for the group, "O-of course… Morinozuka-senpai. Please forgive us…"

"Actions forgive before words." Mori walked back to his desk and sat down. The gaggle of boys whispered a little bit, and it sounded like there was a bit of arguing, and then one of the boys stood up.

He looked like a cocky little prick, and someone behind him said "No, Shibasaki, sit down- don't do it!"

The boy named Shibasaki laughed and brushed him off, then sauntered over to Mori's desk like only a spoiled brat can do. He rested his forearm on Mori's shoulder, and whispered to him, "So does that mean… That you two _are _lovers?" He smiled cockily and jostled his shoulder roughly, cackling back at his friends like an idiot. "Cause that American girl is pretty hot to be with a guy like you… You sure I can't have her- _lover _boy?"

Takashi stopped what he was doing, Shibasaki had his attention now.

"I can only imagine one way a girl like _that_," He smirked at me, "would ever be with a guy like _you_," He walked around me and slid his fingers under my chin, making me shudder slightly. "She must be a real slut to go along with making love to you!" I slapped his hand aside, and he laughed.

"But of course, you might just be paying her a lot of money… Or, she's cheap and weak." He walked back to his original position by Mori's shoulder and shook it again. "Cause if that's the case, I can easily afford to take her back to my place tonight." He leaned down close to Mori's ear and whispered to him then, "Whaddya say? That okay with you, _champ_?"

Mori set down his pencil and calmly closed his book, then set his hands flat on the table in front of him. Suddenly, in one swift movement, he took Shibasaki's wrist, sliding his other hand down to the boy's waist, and flipped him over his head and onto the floor. The room was filled with gasps of awe, one coming from my own throat. Though he was unharmed, the whining brat was lying on the floor, crying out in agony. Takashi looked down on him pitilessly.

"You should never speak of any young lady in that fashion." And he sat back in his desk.

The boy whimpered for a moment, looked me in the eye, and went back to his desk. I watched him for a minute or two, wondering if Takashi had really hurt him or if he just played it up. _I'll talk to him after class._I decided. That was the first time I really saw Mori fight, and it had gone so quickly…

The teacher walked in on a hushed room, and began our studies immediately. I glanced over my shoulder at the boy again, huddled in his desk at the very back of the classroom. He looked broken… Before I turned around, I snuck a peek at Mori-senpai. His eyes were on me. He held my eye for a moment, then looked down and away from me. _Is he ashamed of what he did, _I wondered, _or does he just regret doing it in a classroom?_ I turned back to my geometry lesson.

What was the deal with this boy today? He really confuses me…

I'm sure I'll figure it out.


	9. Chapter 9

I stretched deeply as the bell rang for free time. We had another hour before our next class. Honey told me he was going to stop by the cafeteria for some cake and then go to music room 3 to get started on his and Takashi's host training; if I wanted to go with them, he said, I could. Mori looked at me with slightly wide eyes. I took it that he knew what I was going to do.

I packed my bag slowly and waited for them to leave before I slung the bag over my shoulder and walked down the row toward Shibasaki.

The boy was strangely handsome. He had blonde hair with brown peppered in it, styled to spike in front. His eyes were deep, full of hesitation, and the most beautiful ivy green I'd ever seen. He was about as tall as me, obviously European, and had a nice complexion too.

"Hey." I said. He looked up, anger, sadness, and surprise all fighting to show most in his eyes.

"Uh," He looked flustered. He wasn't expecting this, "Hi."

"Listen," I started, "I don't really know what got into senpai back there, but it's not like him to do that. I'm really sorry, can you forgive him?" He looked up at me, confused, "Because someone who can forgive is someone who can always make a friend." I smiled at him and held out my hand. "And friends are more important than popularity."

He stared at my hand like it was something grotesque and disgusting. Then, slowly, as he processed my words, his face changed to sad confusion.

"You would forgive me? For being such a jerk and you're just going to let it go?"

"Of course. I know you thought you were being funny, or that it was funny to be a jerk, but we can fix that."

"How?"

"Well, it's better to find out through practice. Look," I sat down in the desk in front of him, "I may not be Takashi's lover, but I'm his friend. And therefore, I'm going to help him get over that horrid temper of his. If you accept my friendship, I can try to do the same with you. Well, what do you say, wanna give this a try _Shiba-chan_?"

He looked amazed, like I'd just struck him upside the head. I smiled and waited for him to process what I was saying. He looked at my hand, still outstretched in truce, and hesitantly shook it.

"Sounds like a plan then. Hey, we have lunch at the same time, right? Maybe you can sit by us tomorrow!"

"Well, I don't know if Morinozuka will like that, but okay, I'll see about it…"

"Great! So, I'm really sorry, but I do have somewhere I have to be. I'll see you later though, okay?" I waved as I walked out of the room, not in a big rush, "Bye Shiba-chan!"

When I stepped out of the room, I heard Honey and Mori talking in hushed voices. I slipped off my shoes and slid my feet on the slick floors to avoid making any noise. Then I slipped and slid down the hall until I could hear their conversation.

"…After all I don't know if he could handle it!"

"Mitskuni, he's just into girls for their bodies. If she falls prey to him, her heart would just be broken."

"I don't think so Takashi. I think she'd be able to handle any guy in a relationship- maybe even you!" Honey giggled, "And who knows, maybe she just wants to be friends with Shibasaki. Or maybe he doesn't like her at all!"

"Mitskuni- I'm not going to date Rebekah; and, yeah, sure. Whatever you say Mitskuni- but I don't like him."

I sauntered angrily around the corner, "And why is that, might I ask?" Takashi looked very surprised, and Honey looked like he was caught stealing a cookie. "First of all, I'm not sure whether to be insulted or relieved that you don't want to date me. Secondly, Shibasaki isn't a bad guy. He's just lost. I don't know you, but you obviously aren't very sympathetic. He's just a lost soul that needs a friend or two. He's got a defense mechanism and today, you shattered that sheild. So if anyone is to be disliked here, it's you."

It must've been the dating comment, but his last statement really got me going…

They looked like I'd slapped them both. "I know this is only the second day I've been here, but honestly Takashi, you didn't strike me as the kind of person that's heartless. I don't mean to be so rude, and I know that he was being a jerk, but he needs someone and you're judging him openly. I hope you aren't always like that when someone makes a stupid comment to be funny."

He looked like someone had shot him with a tazer gun. I _was _being pretty harsh, after all. I calmed down a bit.

"I- I'm sorry guys… I just, I'm not one to stand still when people are being bullied or judged… I really didn't mean to be insulting or over-zealous…"

Mori still stood there, struck dumb.

"Honestly, can you say something because I really feel like I insulted you immensely…?"

Nothing.

"Fine, I'm sorry. But if you are going to stand there all day, I'm gonna go grab some cake… Wanna come with me Honey?"

Honey jumped at the opportunity. "Come on Takashi let's go get some cake it'll be fun and then we can go to the third music room and hang out with Kyo-chan and Tama-chan and Hika-chan and Kao-chan and we can talk about cosplay and how you and Bekah-chan are together now and how you're jealous and how-"

"Mitskuni…!" I laughed loudly. I'd never seen such a funny face on anyone! Takashi almost looked terrified!

Honey laughed and pulled on Mori's sleeve. "I'm only kidding Takashi! Come on, let's go get some cake, okay?"

I smiled at them and grabbed their hands. We were just starting to get on our way to the cafeteria when we passed our classroom's hallway. I glanced down the hall and saw Shibasaki closing the door behind him. I stopped dead. Before I did anything too rash, I looked at Takashi and gestured to Shiba-chan with my head. Takashi looked down the hall at him through the corners of his eyes and looked back at me. Upon seeing my face, he closed his eyes, sighed, and stated simply- "Mmm."

"Thank you Takashi." I smiled and turned to face the figure walking down the hall. His head was hanging, and he walked with his hands in his pockets. I called out to him, and his head snapped up.

"Hey! Shiba-chan! Want some cake? It's on me!" I waved and waited for him to come to us. Takashi and Honey were really patient, thank goodness. When he finally got to us, I grabbed his sleeve and Mori's hand and shot off toward the cafeteria; Honey was already running down the hall. We all ordered and then sat down with our cakes, Shibasaki looking a bit awkward, but getting better by the minute.

It was pretty cool to be bonding like that with the guys. Almost immediately, Takashi apologized for throwing Shiba-chan, and Shiba-chan apologized for being such a jerk as well. Honey smiled at me, but not in his normal innocent way. He looked like a wise man, someone who knew what was up. It was odd to see, but I liked it. Mitskuni was smarter than he let on, and I think he liked what I'd done.

We didn't spent long there, but it was sort of surreal, really, just talking with them. Eventually Honey and Mori had to get over to the host club, so we let them go and Shiba-chan and I walked back over to the first library room.

While we walked away from the guys, joking around and talking about our favorite books, I glanced back to see if Mori and Honey had started off yet.

Mori was standing, half turned, facing us. My vision isn't perfect, so I wasn't able to see his facial expression clearly, but still… Did he look a little sullen as he walked toward Mitskuni?

_I guess I'll have to ask later._ And with that, I turned my attention back to Shiba-chan.


	10. Chapter 10

Kids shuffled lazily into our classroom as we prepared for the last class of the day. It's ironic how Shibasaki, the boys and I all had the same classes after lunch. As odd as it was, we were all pretty much cool after that. Shiba-chan headed back towards his other friends and sat with them, while Mori, Honey and I sat together again.

"Hey, guys? What was host club training like?" I asked when we were settled.

Honey responded, "Well, it's really cool actually. Tama-chan made us practice our manners and explained how to be gentlemen. Basically all it is though is us sitting around, and eating sweets, and talking to girls, and making them feel good. Takashi even had a bit of fun when we were there, didn't you Takashi?"

"Yeah."

"And then Tama-chan told us about how we're going to have a party two weeks from now to advertise and get people to come!" Honey rattled on about how it would be a formal dance, all the school's girls would be invited, and how I should definitely dress up and come.

"Er, thanks for the offer Honey-senpai, but I don't think I'd really have fun at a formal event like that..."

Honey looked at me with his huge, boyish eyes and asked, "Why not? You don't think you'd look pretty compared to the other girls?"

I jerked back a little bit. _How did he know I thought that... Jeez, this kid MUST be some sort of super-powered alien or something..._

"Because I think you'd look really good no matter what you wore. Don't you agree Takashi?"

"Mmm."

"Well, erm... Thanks Honey, but... Well I don't really... I don't have any reason to go," _Yeah, _I thought, _good excuse! _"You see, every other girl is going to be there to dance and have fun, but I don't really like that sort of thing...!"

"You're joining the newspaper club next week, right?" Honey said. _How did he know that... They're going over my 'resume' right now... I don't recall ever mentioning it... And why bring it up now?_

"Yeah, yeah I am. Why?"

"Oh, just wondering. I wasn't sure if you were involved in _anything_ here to be honest and that wouldn't be good for you, so I figured I'd have to check up on you and make sure you were enjoying yourself." He sounded a little suspicious to me...

I directed my attention more toward Mori since Honey was making me a little paranoid. "Okay then... Well, either way it doesn't sound very interesting to go to a formal party and sit around with a bunch of fantasizing girls who are just going to drool all over your suit before I could even dance with you." _Whoops, that slipped out..._ "I mean, if I even did dance with _either_ of you. Like I said, not a very appealing scene to me."

Honey giggled at the imagery, and Mori smiled to himself. I guess they caught my little slip up... Oh well, too late to make up for it now.

The teacher walked into our room, concentrated- but on the flyer in her hand, not our lessons.

She held it up and waved it around slightly, "Which of you girls is educated in formal dancing? Any of you?" Every girl in the room shyly raised her hand, including me. "Good, good. Well, girls, there's a dance two weeks from now, being sponsored by the new _host club_." She said the clubs name with uncertainty. "This is what the flyer reads: 'Good day, pretty ladies of Ouran! Two weeks from now the Ouran highschool host club will be sponsoring a lavish party in the main hall for any young lady that wishes to attend. For those of you who don't know, the host club is made up of six boys, two of them from the middle school, who will be there to cater to your every desire. Please, _Princesses_, come in your most radiant dress, and prepare to have your hearts melted by this gorgeous gaggle of boys.' Does anyone in here know what the meaning of this is?" Mori, Honey and I smiled, and I even giggled slightly at the outrageous description that was _obviously _put into print by Tamaki Suoh.

"What are you three smirking about? Mr. Haninozuka, Mr. Morinozuka, Ms. Dybowski? Do you know something about this?"

"As a matter of fact, Mrs. Yukomoji, we do. You see, Takashi and I are _in_ the host club, and we'll also be attending this party." Honey stood and turned to the class, "Every young lady is welcome, and there's no admission cost. So please, come and dance with us, even if only for a little while!" He smiled in his innocent, angelic way at all the girls in the class. You could actually hear the slight moans of the girls who loved him, and hear their hearts melting. I shook my head slightly and smiled as he sat down again.

"Mori, are you actually into this kind of thing? Or are you just doing it for Honey-senpai?" I whispered over my shoulder.

He smiled a bit again. "For Mitskuni." I smiled and mouthed, 'Figures,' and turned back to the teacher.

She was pinning it up on the chalkboard with a magnet, and spoke to us girls as she did so. "Now remember young ladies, this club is just something to entertain you, don't start thinking that they are actually in love with you," She grabbed a piece of chalk from the board and started sketching out notes and examples for today's lesson. "It's foolish to think that they would spend time with hundreds of girls and like _you_ out of them all." She turned to the class, clapping her hands together to get the dust off, "So don't get your hopes up. No offence to you, Hani and Morinozuka."

The boys nodded, understanding. I thought deeply about what she said, that thing about the hundreds of girls, and at the same time kept writing notes. _Is that true... Hundreds of girls? Hmm... What makes me think I have even a chance with Mori-senpai? What would Takashi see in me that he can't find in _any _of those other girls? _I kept pondering it, thinking about what my chances were against all these pretty Japanese girls... I figured; not much.

And when a pretty girl with a green hairband shyly over to us three after class, my spirits sunk a bit lower.


	11. Chapter 11

The girl was a little shorter than me, with brown hair somewhat restricted by a thing green headband. She blushed slightly as she looked at Mori, then me, then back to Mori.

"So," She said, "Are you two together, or is that just a rumor?" She said it with a smile, but I could tell she wasn't excited to hear our answer.

"Oh, us!?" I replied sheepishly. "Oh, God, no! Takashi and I are both single, and happily so!" Flustered, I laughed to pass it off as a joke.

She looked taken slightly taken aback, "Oh, well, that's good to hear! I was curious as to whether you'd be able to be a host with a girlfriend or not, Takashi!" She blushed again, just slightly, and there was an awkward silence.

She shifted back and forth on her feet, obviously nervous. I didn't like the look she had on her face. "So, you'll be at the dance then? Morinozuka-senpai?" She looked up at him, eyes wide and hopeful.

He didn't speak.

"Um... Cause, I was hoping, well maybe if you do go- that is, if you're willing," She coughed a little bit and restarted, "I was hoping you'd save me a dance... Maybe... If you're up for it..." She smiled again, but it disappeared quickly as she waited for him to respond.

He simply nodded, and the girl's cheeks flushed with renewed embarrassment. "Great! Uh, I'll, uh, see you then, I guess! And well, every other day until then, and, uh, I'm just going to, uh, go now..." She walked away with her head down, smiling and blushing like a little girl.

I let my shoulders droop a little, and hung my head slightly. _I guess Ms. Yukomoji was right, _I thought, disappointed, _there are so many girls for him to choose from... What chance do I have? I guess I'm really just mad at myself for thinking I had a chance though... So there's no room for me to be disappointed. _I began to fume in frustration.

Mori, already getting absorbed in his studies, opened his book as he started copying the examples off the black board into his notebook. Honey looked over at me as I sulked in my own anger and self-hatred. I watched him through my peripherals as he took in my mood and processed it. When he was done assessing me, he turned back to his work with a simple, "Hm."

Though I hated to admit it, I knew he could tell what I was thinking. I just couldn't wait till this day was over.

The class continued, grueling on, until we were all leaning our heads on our hands. The first day of school was always the most energetic back in the states, because we didn't do anything really... But here everyone's family requires them to be a genius so they can inherit the family business, so the studies start right away here. It might be the only thing I don't like about Japan so far!

Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, the bell rang.

I gathered my things and set them neatly in my bag, and took my phone from the side pocket. I checked my messages, none today, and went to put it back in my bag. But when I reached to put it in the pocket again, it was gone!

Momentarily spazzing, relief washed over me when a deep voice told me, "I got it." I looked up at Takashi, standing behind me with two bags in one hand, and one under his arm. I was about to argue when he interrupted me, "No big deal. I'll carry them." We set off, leaving the class, when I heard a little gasp from behind me. I looked back to see the girl with the headband standing by her desk, watching us leave. She blushed as I saw her, and she turned away quickly.

I kept walking with the boys, wondering if she was jealous or just shocked.

We were all the way to the north building and on our way to the south wing before I realized that I was supposed to be going home.

"Oh, you guys, I should probably head home..." Mori and Honey-senpai stopped and turned to look at me. Honey looked distraught, his eyes wide and shining as if he was going to cry. So before he could say anything to pull at my heart- how I had learned he does with ease- I said, "But, uh, I could always stay until you guys are done hosting...?" Honey's eyes widened and he perked up again.

"Yay! Bekah-chan is going to stay with us! Isn't that great Takashi?" He jumped on my arm and spun around, shouting and laughing with joy. _This kid is way too easily pleased... _

So I asked Takashi for my bag, and pulled out my phone. I knew that if my dad was still on a business trip, he wouldn't take calls, so I texted him instead. Just a quick message, 'Hangin with friends, be home in two hours.' And slid the cell back in my bag's pocket.

Before I could get the bag all the way over my shoulder, it slid off of me again, only to land in Mori's strong grip again. He looked at me and smiled slightly as he started off toward music room 3 again.

I blushed and followed closely behind him and Honey.


	12. Chapter 12

When we reached the music room, we could already hear the sounds of girls laughing and flirting with the other hosts. We'd agreed on the way there that I'd sit in with Honey and Mori the whole time, considering that I didn't have anyone else to hang out with while we were there.

Takashi opened one of the humongous white doors and held it open for Honey and I. Surprisingly, there were only about ten girls in there. It had sounded like a lot more from outside. The reason they were so loud is that they were all perched around two plush, red velvet couches, hopping around and swooning at something.

I soon found out that that 'something' was Tamaki Suoh.

There were about 7 all swarmed around him, begging to sit by him next, some sipping tea, eating cake and other sweets, and some just holding onto each other for support. It was ridiculous. They seemed like love-sick little puppies or something. The other three were standing around Kyoya, basking in his radiance. _I have to admit, he _is _pretty handsome, and cool too... However, _I looked up at Takashi, _he's got _nothing _on Mori-senpai._

He was rapidly scribbling away in a black notebook, while at the same time talking to each of the girls, _and _eating. What a guy! Talk about some serious multi-tasking.

Takashi and Mitskuni walked over to an empty table and pulled out two chairs. Honey plopped down in the first and cuddled Usa-chan happily. Mori held the other chair out and motioned for me to sit down. I smiled and obliged. _Wow... A real gentleman...!_ He took his seat across from Honey and set down our bags by his feet.

For a moment, none of us spoke. It was a bit awkward really, so I broke the silence first, "Uh... So, guys, how's it feel to be an official host now? You guys get to eat all the cake you want," Directed at Honey-senpai, "Keep each other company," Directed at Mori-senpai, "And, you can talk to pretty girls all day!" That one was more of a jealousy factor, honestly.

Honey jumped right in to answer me, "Oh it's gonna be so much fun, Bekah-chan! You should come with us here _every _day! The cake is yummy, we have tons of different teas, and it's really fun to entertain ladies- they love it! It's nice to make them feel good, ya know?" He smiled, and cuddled Usa-chan a little more.

I turned to the silent giant. "What about you, Takashi? Aren't you excited? I mean, isn't it every guy's dream to have girls drooling over his every word like this?" I laughed to myself a little, "Even if you don't say much to begin with!"

He looked at me, blank faced, before pulling a novel out of his bag. _I guess I said something wrong...?_

Tamaki spoke up loudly, indicating with his hand as he did so, "Mori-senpai! Come over here! I forgot, I needed to tell you something!" Mori put down his book and headed across the room toward Tamaki.

Honey turned to me as soon as Takashi was out of ear-shot. "You know, if you like Takashi you should just tell him," I turned to him, shocked that he'd bring it up. "And you're making it pretty obvious that you're jealous, Bekah-chan. Why not just tell him how you feel and get it off your chest?"

"Oh, uh... I just... Uh... I..." I stuttered for a minute, fumbling to find the right words. "Well, I uh, I'm not really sure how to... Well, it's like this, I guess. Just how our teacher said in class today, senpai, he could have any of the girls that like him. He basically has hundreds of girls to choose from, why should I be special? Why should I tell him how I feel when really, I don't have virtually _any_ chance with him?"

Mitskuni looked my right in the eye and said to me, "But Bekah-chan, Takashi-" He stopped dead in the middle of his sentence as the sound of footsteps started to ring above the din of the crying girls. Mori was coming back.

But, he came _with_ Tamaki.

"Rebekah! How lovely to see you here!" He greeted me when they reached the table. "How are you today, my princess?" His voice lowered, almost seductively, and I laughed at his facade.

"You are rediculous, Tama-chan! What do you want?" I asked him in return.

"Well, Bekah-senpai, Mori-senpai and I have decided that you should become- that's right-" _Uh-oh,_ I thought, _this isn't gonna be good..._ "We think you should become a host!"

I nearly fell out of my chair.


	13. Chapter 13

_***Just a note, this one is in Mori's view. So don't get confused!** _:D*

I didn't like the idea; of Rebekah being a host, I mean. I didn't like it at all.

Of course, it was partially because Tamaki is an idiot, but mostly, it's because other guys are morons. Besides, what was Tamaki thinking? I know she'd intimidate the other girls if she hung out with me and Mitskuni the whole time, but guys aren't like girls. They don't go to a club to hang out with certain girls, they don't fawn over girls how girls fawn over guys. They'd much rather be chased after then do the chasing! Right?

I didn't like this plan at all.

When Tamaki was done explaining his plan to me, I tried to tell him it was a bad idea- but he didn't listen. Normally people listen when I talk, since I don't much- but not Tamaki. He never listens... To anyone. Save for Kyoya. He started walking back to my table with Mitskuni, leaving the swooning girls to watch him from afar. I kept my eyes on him, listening to what he said. If he said the wrong thing, who knew how Rebekah would react? Who knews indeed... She's so unpredictable. She's kind, but makes sure she gets her point across with ferocity.

Tamaki's princely voice snapped me back to the present.

"How are you today, my princess?" He had lowered his head to be eye level with her, his hand starting to reach for her face. She stopped his hand in it's track by laughing out loud at him. I didn't want to admit it, but it still surprised me when she brushed him off like that... It made me realize how down to Earth she was.

I tuned back into the conversation, ignoring my own thoughts, in time to hear her say, "...Tama-chan! What do you want?" In her airy voice, still breathless from laughing. As Tamaki began to explain the solution he'd forced on me, and therefore her, I saw her face fall from the happy air of carefree delight she usually had, to an empty, shocked shell with a straight face. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Suddenly, she leaned back in the armless chair, almost falling out because she sat sideways while looking at Tamaki. I took three steps and caught her back with both arms, keeping her stable while she attempted to right herself. She flashed me an embarrassed smile, and her eyes said "Thanks" silently. I let her think, still holding her up, while Tamaki explained what being a female host would mean. I hadn't really been paying attention to what he said, Rebekah's eyes distracted me... If eyes were windows to the soul, then she must be the most pure person I know.

"...Cosplay with us, and you'll get your own table, and you'll be free to eat all the sweets and such that you want, and you'll get to know a lot more people, and, and, well- we'd love it if you'd be a host, Bekah-senpai!" He smiled at her and chuckled slightly.

She looked flustered. Suddenly, she stood up, brushed off the skirt of her uniform, and looked Tamaki in his violently violet eyes. The room got really quiet, the only noise the breathing of the students in the room, and Mitskuni eating his cake. "Sure thing. I'll be a host." She said seriously. The Tamaki fans all gasped, some with tears in their eyes. Mitskuni looked up at Rebekah with eyes bigger than his sweet tooth, and Kyoya looked up from his notebook, where he was jotting something down. Rebekah kept eye contact with Tamaki, waiting for his response.

His eyes widened slightly, before he spazzed out and jump hugged her. He started crying out like the idiot he is how much he loved her and how a thousand thank yous would never be enough to tell her how grateful he was to her. I saw how her face was contorted, knowing that Tamaki was making her uncomfortable, and I walked over to the love fest, and picked her up around the waist- detaching her from Tamaki. Though he had a sort of sparkle in his eye when he saw me do that (a mischevious one that I didn't like the look of), he looked heart broken.

"Too much, Tamaki." I told him. He straightened up, smoothing down his crumpled school jacket, and composed himself quietly. I'd already set Rebekah down, knowing that if I held her too long, her blush would probably become _too_ noticable for her liking- though I knew it was there. She stood calmly next to me, right where I'd set her, and we watched the first year blonde struggle with what to say.

Finally, he turned to the room of girls and Kyoya, putting on his princely air again. "If I can have your attention please," He said grandly, though all eyes were on him already, "As of today, Miss Rebekah Dybowski will be joining our ranks as our first female host! She's going to be a... _trial run_, if you will- so please, tell any friends you have who would be interested in visiting her! And remember, a host doesn't have to be used for romance- you could just have her as a friend as well. That is all, thank you very much!" He smiled charmingly and turned back to us. "So, that's that! I'll begin your host training immediately, we'll choose your image type, and set to work first thing tomorrow! During your free hour that is."

So, that's the jist of how I became much closer to Rebekah then I ever thought I would.


	14. Chapter 14

Every day of school, from then on, Rebekah came with Mitskuni and I to music room 3 on our free hour and after school. On our free hour, we learned some techniques to improve our entertaining skills, worked on our characters, and disscussed cosplay ideas (though Rebekah still sat with us after school, as she would until she was a full-fledged host). I mainly watched, considering my character meant I didn't really have to talk; which of course, was perfectly fine by me.

Rebekah on the other hand, was having a bit of difficulty with her act. Tamaki wanted her to go for the preppy, ditzy girl first, since she could be a bit shy and funny- but that didn't get far at all. She started cracking up every time she said one of those stupid lines Suoh said would make the boys love her. Second, he tried to make her the bad girl. Though Rebekah can be a bit of a rebel in additude, and she does have quite a temper- she didn't really do well at that. She's way too kind-hearted. He also tried making her the shy timid one, and honestly I'm not sure how he even _considered_ that working.

Finally, brimming with frustration, Tamaki said to try sexy and shy. I didn't think he was getting anywhere at this point. We'd spent half an hour just brainstorming and trying things out. Mitskuni and I were sitting at the end of the long table in the prep room off the right side of the room, on the oppisite side from Kyoya, Tamaki, and Rebekah. Kyoya was writing down whatever he keeps track of vigorously, Mitskuni was on his second cake, Tamaki was furiously explaining Rebekah's next role, and I stayed silent- watching.

When I heard what Tamaki was saying, I was leaning back in my chair, two legs off the floor, rocking slightly. "...And so judging on your additude, shy nature, and the fact that you have beautiful eyes, the sexy and shy role should fit you perfectly!" He enthusiastically proclaimed.

I paused, shocked, and my chair fell backward to the floor, me going down with it.

"Ah! Mori-senpai!" Tamaki exclaimed, "Are you all right, what's wrong!?"

I sat stunned on the floor, trying to properly proccess what I'd just heard before slowly lifting myself off the pink tiled floor. "Hey, are you okay?" Mitskuni peered at me from behind his cake as I brushed myself off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost my balance."

Kyoya looked on, still sitting with Rebekah at the end of the table. Her cheeks were shaded slightly pink and she smiled to herself. "What," She asked sarcastically, "You don't think that I can pull off the sexy girl?" She stood slowly, flipping her hair back and away from her face. Rebekah tilted her head down and to the left slightly, lowering her eyelids halfway. Sadly, I knew what she was doing, and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep completely cool. She sauntered over to me, crossing her legs as she walked and swaying her hips, almost like a model would. I clenched my jaw as she stopped, placing one finger on my right collarbone, and looking up at me with her bright blue eyes. "I think I could convince you otherwise- if I tried." Though I knew she was just proving a point, the whisper she used nearly made me shudder.

She could _definitally_ do sexy.

Before I could think of a response, she dissolved into laughter and slapped her hand to her forehead, Tamaki laughing with her. "You... Shoulda seen... Seen your _face_!" She gasped. Kyoya and Mitskuni smiled to themselves, Mitskuni giggling and agreeing. I turned my head away, hoping no one would see the blush tainting my cheek bones.

"Ah ha... Then it's decided! Bekah-senpai, starting later today- you will be," He paused, turning in a circle while flaunting his hands and arms like a dancer- finishing by winking and pointing at Rebekah, "The _sexy_ one!" A small noise escaped my throat- though I knew it was going to happen, I still couldn't quite imagine that.

Rebekah turned back to me and smiled. "Don't worry Takashi-kun," She chuckled, "I'll try not to make you too jealous."

Mitskuni chuckled, and I picked up the plush backed chair from the polished floor. The curved wood was smooth under my hand, cut in two spirals on the sides, and an oval with two more spirals on the top. Overall, simple- but very beautiful. I looked back up at Rebekah, thinking about that philosiphy, then pushed the chair back to it's place at the table.

The bell shocked us all out of our 'lessons', and we all headed back to class, Kyoya and Tamaki splitting up with us on their way to the west building. Mitskuni talked with Rebekah on the way back to class about how she'd have to start portraying her character a little more in public so that she didn't look fake. It was true, since Tamaki didn't think of just making her the fun girl or something that fit her personality more naturally, she'd have to actually act a bit.

Some people think that we all act, over at the Host Club, but we don't. All of us are actually like our personality traits, even Tamaki. Plus, all of us actually enjoy making girls happy. We all like their company, we like making them smile. It feels almost like we're doing something good. Hopefully, Rebekah won't be an exception to that, except to entertain _boys_ of course.

We stepped back into the classroom, taking our seats, just as the last bell rang. Shibasaki was sitting next to me, to my surprise, and Rebekah and Mitskuni sat on my other side in that order. Shibasaki looked as if he were about to say something to us, but the teacher called for quiet, and we all obliged.


	15. Chapter 15

The day went by fast, with little to no time between classes to talk. Apparently, Tamaki and Kyoya (more likely just Tamaki, though) had been spreading the word about Rebekah's becoming a host. Whole groups of boys would stop to look and point shyly at her as we passed them. Each time, she got a little less shy about being sexy, but kept enough shyness to suit the character. At first, she blushed- but by the time we were halfway down the hall, she was waving at the boys. They blushed, not all sure how to react to the sudden change of mood in the awkward immigrant.

We were nearly to class, Rebekah now being friendly with everyone, though still a bit shy, when she stopped dead in her tracks, blushing hard. "What's wrong Bekah-chan!?" Mitskuni hopped on her back, and she chuckled nervously.

"It's Shi-"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S the character they picked for you!? YOU are supposed to be SEXY!?" Shibasaki was bent over laughing, just ahead of us and to the right side of the hallway- right next to our next class' door. "Ah haha... Oh man... I'm sorry, I really am, it's believable, it really is!" He said with a smirk. I looked on stoically as he dissolved into sporadic laughter again.

He really made me furious.

"Didn't you learn anything, that day you called her that name?" He knew I was referencing to the day I'd flipped him in class, just earlier this week. His face sombered immediately. "I honestly didn't think I'd have to straighten you out again. You don't learn respect easily, do you?" I took a step toward him, "That's a shame. Now I'll have to re-teach a hard lesson."

As I took another step toward him, a soothing hand lightly grasped my forearm. Surprised it wasn't Mitskuni, I turned to see Rebekah's embarrassed face looking with disappointment on Shibasaki. She slid her crystal blue eyes toward me and smiled sheepishly. _Don't,_ She mouthed to me silently. Her eyes slowly turned pink, insulted and hurt by the boy; She turned her head to him though, determined not to care.

"You really should be a little more curteous, Shiba-chan. Some people are easily hurt." With that, she gently led Mitskuni and I by our arms into the classroom.

Though I respected her for being able to keep calm, and I was glad she'd stopped me from going too far- Rebekah was really making me angry. Couldn't she just let me teach him to shut up already? Mitskuni's voice caught my attention as we sat down in three desks. "...thought he was being funny... It's not his fault, he's still just awkward. Besides, how would he know whether or not you're beautiful? Boys aren't always as good of judges of beauty as Takashi and I!" He was smiling at Rebekah, and even though I hadn't caught all of it- I knew what he was saying about Shibasaki.

_I guess Mitskuni's right..._ I stood up and walked over to the desk Shibasaki now occupied, face tinged pink in realized shame. I nodded my head sideways, indicating him to follow me to the back corner of the room, aware that Rebekah and Mitskuni were both watching. I walked with my head down, and leaned against the wall. My face slightly hidden by my hair, I slumped over a little, so as not to look as intimidating. Though I did want to hate the rude boy for his ignorance, that wasn't what I was doing.

He approached apprehensively, swiping his hand through his sandy hair. "Uh... Look, Morinozuka-senpai, what I said back there... I didn't really, I mean..." He looked to me for help finding the right words. Sadly I couldn't help him. He dropped his hands to his sides in despair, he didn't know what to do. "Look, I really didn't mean to hurt her back there, it's just that, I thought it was funny, and, the way she was playing the character was a little humourous," He looked up at me again, still no help from me, "Okay. Wanna know what's really up? I don't know how to act around her. I... I guess I like her, okay? Now that you know that, could you do something other than just stand there watching me flail?"

I smirked to myself. Mission success. I wasn't there to talk to him, I only pulled him over there so he'd realize what he did wrong. If that involved talking, so be it. If not, happy day.

I stood back up and said, "Good. Now think about what you say before you say it to her." As I took a step away from him, I stopped. My emotions- which I normally try to suppress- had overwhelmed me lately. I realized that it was because I saw Shibisaki as a threat to me. Or, to Rebekah...? I couldn't tell... I glanced back at him where he stood with his head down. "She's fragile. So be careful." He blushed deeper and nodded, heading back to his seat.

As we both strode across the room, he called out to me again- "Ah, Morinozuka-senpai," I turned to him, "My uh, my name is Kira. I, I don't know if you knew that... So..." Flustered, he muttered a bit and continued to his seat. I did the same.

Rebekah's head was down, a soft waterfall of hair sheilding her face from view except from the front. I slid out of my chair, crouching in front of her desk to get her attention. I noticed that her spatter of fawn colored freckles seemed brighter and more vibrant against her blush, and the pink rim of her sad eyes made her eyes brighter than a clear afternoon sky. I sat there until she looked at me, fully composed and sure of herself.

"He won't hurt you anymore. Not while I'm here." Her eyes widened as I spoke, and her eyes brimmed over with the crystals that were her tears, and I reached out my hand to hold one side of her face. I was in full host mode now, but I meant what I said to her, as opposed to the normal crap I pulled out for our guests. I could feel her breath, shaky with uncertainty, and looked directly into her moist eyes when I said, "I promise."

Her relief was evident as she sighed then. She was free of having to worry about Kira now, and she knew it. Her sweet breath washed over me, revealing her natural scent when she was at her most vulnerable. My chest tightened. She was so much more beautiful than any Japanese girl- or any other girl for that matter- could be.

I shook my head slightly. What was I thinking? I couldn't even accept the idea of liking Rebekah, it wasn't right. I'd only spent- what- a couple weeks with her? I barely knew her. And as I realized that, I came up with a resolve- and looked her right in the eye when I said;

"Rebekah, I want to take you on a date." She looked shocked, but I didn't care. It was time I got to know this girl, otherwise, what's the point of the feelings I had for her?


	16. Chapter 16

"Nooo... I think you should wear something fancy." Mitskuni sat perched at the top of my dresser, critiquing my clothing choices for later today. "Honestly, Takashi, you need to wear, like, a tuxedo or something!" He laughed at the idea and smiled boyishly.

"Mitskuni, we're going to a _waterpark_. I don't think that's something you normally dress up for." I walked over to where he sat swinging his legs and slid open the 3rd drawer out of the 7 on my tall dresser. "I don't know why you're trying to help, it's just a tee-shirt and some shorts. It's not dinner and a proposal... I dress myself everyday." I'd actually had this discussion with my slightly younger sister already- she'd actually helped me decide where this date would be, and explained why. Something about adrenaline and being social mixed well. I guess waterparks are really just the way to go.

He noticed how snippy I was getting and giggled. "It's okay, Takashi, I just want this to be perfect for you two!" He watched me grab my favorite tee, a sleeveless white shirt with three purple rings radiating from the right shoulder. I shut the drawer and went back over to my closet to drop my pajama shirt in my clothes basket. "You're wearing _that_?"

Mitskuni looked quizzically at the shirt, knowing it was the same one he'd bought for me when we were 15. I was pretty tall for my age then, and hadn't grown much since, so it still fit like a charm.

"Yeah."

"But, don't you wanna wear something... I dunno," He labored to find the right words, "Something more modest?" He eyed my bluging biceps with weary jealousy.

"No. If she has a problem with my arms showing, then I guess the waterpark wasn't a very good idea."

He hung his head, thinking. "Hey! Is there going to be a current pool!?" He launched himself across the room, hitting the floor once to do a spin, landing on my bead with a soft thunk. "That would be great! Ooh, I wonder what kind of bathing suit Bekah-chan wears... Do you think she has a bikini?"

I blushed. "I don't know." Honestly, I hoped not.

The driver pulled up the slight incline to Rebekah's house, and put the car in park before opening Mitskuni's door. I'd always just opened my own. Why make someone else do it?

We walked up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell, the small blonde clinging to my back in excitement. The door swung open, and there she was.

Rebekah kept her hair pulled back in a bun sort of thing, really just a ponytail pulled halfway through the holder. Her eyes were bare, no makeup, and sparkling brighter than the sky outside. She looked flustered, wearing a sun dress covered in a floral design, and she was panting. I couldn't tell why until I saw it. The dark and light creature streaked from the kitchen, down the hall, and flung itself at me. The only thing I heard was Bekah yelling; "DAKOTA- DOWN! NO-!" Then she was out the door, trying desparately to find the collar on the Siberean Husky that I was wrestling with. The dog was trying to escape, to run- but judging by the fact that Rebekah looked so horrified when she came sprinting down the hall, I figured she wasn't the type of dog that comes right back.

Finally, she got a grip and dragged the whining dog back inside and slammed the door behind her. Mitskuni and I stood there, stunned, and waited for something to happen. Finally, she slipped out the door, locking it behind her, flustered and red-faced, with a large scratch down her arm. It was slightly swollen. Mitskuni gaped at it; "Bekah-chan, you're hurt!"

"Oh, ha ha, no," She flipped her bangs back, too short to stay in her make-shift bun and said, "Dakota's really harmless, she did that on accident, I need to get her claws done. Anyways, let's go!" And with that, she slid her sinch-sack onto her shoulder and sauntered over to the car in her leather sandals.


	17. Chapter 17

Rebekah's eyes grew in the anticipation of the waterpark. She was getting in free today, and Mitskuni and I were getting in very cheap since her dad supplied all the security (staff and equipment wise) at the park. She told us, embarrassed, how she'd never actually been to a Japanese waterpark before. Mitskuni gasped at her, not being able to believe someone who's just as wealthy as we are has been deprived all this time. What he didn't really grasp, was that Rebekah had only been _in_ Japan for a little over a month.

Since it was a Saturday, the park was plenty full and the entrance line excruciatingly long- but Rebekah had had the sense to call ahead, so we got inside quickly. At first, we all tried to stick together. Turns out, Bekah's a bit of a coaster whore. No joke, every single coaster we saw, she wanted to ride. Normally I'd have been fine with that, but then again, there was Mitskuni.

"Nooooo Bekah-chan, those rides are too scary for me!" He'd wail time after time, pulling at her dazzling red swim-suit, "Can't we just go by the kiddy pool?"

Both mine and Rebekah's frustration was peaking by the end of our first hour there(during which we'd only walked around), considering this was, after all, supposed to be a date. Our salvation came in the form of a teenage girl in a polka dotted bikini. She was the leader of the Haninozuka fan club over at Ouran- Minaki Ozaku, a first year- and man, did she just come up with the best idea _ever_.

"Oh, Mitskuni! What a surprise seeing you here! Oh, Morinozuka-senpai, Dybowski-senpai! You, too!" She chatted with us for a while before she finally said; "Hey, Mitskuni? Me and a couple of my friends were going to the wave pool and the lazy river, do you guys wanna join us?" She turned a bit pink as Mitskuni leapt into a hug, happily proclaiming he'd love to join them. Rebekah and I, however, politely declined. Both of us smiled at her, but not to be nice, more out of the pure pleasure at the fact that we were actually alone.

As soon as they were gone, we were too. We hit up some of the most outrageously named coasters- the _godzilla_, the _raft-eater_, the _otaku_- with lines long enough to match. By the 6th coaster, we were out of breath from walking, laughing, and dancing(which really is a long story... Let's just say that there were a lot of good songs playing and leave it at that. I'm not exactly proud of my 'moves'). The ride we had just arrived at was called the _incinerator_. It was the parks main attraction, apparently spraying hot/warm water to make it seem like you're really in Hell. Whether the ride was or not, the line for it really was.

We could tell straight off that it was going to be a long time before we got to ride it, but that wasn't going to stop our good moods. Picking up our last topic of joking, I mentioned how pink Rebekah was getting. She'd applied sunscreen every half hour for the 4 and a half hours we'd been here, and has still managed to burn. After I was done making fun of her for being such a pale American girl, we started to play the favorites game. Example, I ask her favorite color, she answers. She asks my favorite food, I answer. It lasts for hours, really.

We were running out of questions to ask when we got to the top of the line. Only thing is, I didn't realize it.

"Favorite... song?" I was asking her, but instead of a song, I recieved;

"Finally!" She started bobbing up and down in her nicely fitted one-piece.

Shocked at how quickly we'd gotten there, I smiled slyly at her. She didn't realize how much I enjoyed talking with her- even if I didn't talk much. The usher waved us forward to the empty raft, indicating that I would sit in the back, and Rebekah practically on my lap. Though we'd already done this 5 other times, I still got a bit awkward when she sat down. I could feel her sleek suit slide onto my chest, leaning against me for support. I tried to control my breathing so as not to rock her back and forth.

Suddenly the raft jerked, and we were off.

From what I'd seen, Rebekah wasn't one to be scared during a water coaster ride; but this ride was _horrifying_ to her. The black entrance tunnel wasn't a problem, she could handle the drops there. The spin bowl wasn't anything major, just standard fun. But when all the noise died down, and we slipped into an eerily lit passage, fog and mist surrounding our path for what seemed like miles on end(most likely lined with mirrors for that effect), I could feel her clutch the sides of the raft and lean into me. She slid her hands up to her ears and plugged them hard, as if to ward of evils. To comfort her, I placed my hands gently on her elbows, waiting till she knew it was me, and then I slid my arms around her, hugging her close to myself. I hunched myself over slightly, making a protective huddle around her.

At the end of the tunnel, there was a light. Yeah, irony. It was bright green though, and I'm fairly sure it's what made the fog in the mirrored tunnel the color it was. From there, we slid down a vicious incline to the right, sloping even sharper as we zipped this way and that. Out of nowhere loomed up an enormous Grim Reaper, It's cape the opening into a pool of eye-splitting daylight and sparkling water. It was over. She quickly detached herself from me, embarrassed by her weakness, and stepped out of the raft as casually as if it were any of the other rides.

Though she was a bit more hesitant to go on that ride again, Rebekah went back to normal within another ride. We journeyed over to the more interactive games, like the bumper boats, body slide races, stuff like that. For the last hour of the day, we roamed around that area, competing to see which of us was better at what. The majority of things I won based on weight, but, shockingly, she creamed me in the bumper boats. Because she won, I had to buy her ice cream at whichever stand she chose.

Halfway to the stand, her sandals _snap_. So that she can't walk in them. At first, I ask her if she wants to go buy some shoes, but she says she's fine and doesn't need shoes to get around. After a moment, however, she's leaping like a drunk rabbit, attempting not to burn her feet too badly.

"Rebekah-" She stopped her dance and looked at me quizzically. I swooped my arm underneath her knees and grasped her back, swinging her off the ground and into my arms. Her blush was so thick it almost matched her bathing suit.

"Ah, Mori-senpai..." She looked up at me and blushed even harder, mumbling something about duct tape and leather. I smiled.

"Let's go find Mitskuni and head home. I'll buy you some ice cream on the way home." And with that, we concluded the _alone_ part of our date.


	18. Chapter 18

As is just our luck, our driver got lost on the way back from the park.

We stopped for ice cream, as promised, when he took the wrong turn. None of us noticed really. Mitskuni was tuckered out and sleeping on the seat opposite us, and Rebekah and I sat facing the front of the limousine, sharing the wide seat but still sitting closely together. The temperature had dropped since we'd left the park at around 5, and she hadn't brought anything warm to cover up with- so she was pretty much using me. Because I was sitting under the air duct, of course.

I handed her the sweater I'd brought with earlier, but she declined. After the coaster incident, I think she was trying to look self-sufficient.

I realized we were lost at about 6 pm. It had only taken us a half hour to get there from Rebekah's house, so when I checked the time, I was a bit confused. I pressed the button to lower the window between the driver and us, and politely asked if he knew where we were.

"Uh, well, sir-" He stuttered and sighed, "No. I'm sorry, I must've taken a wrong turn back at the ice cream parlor..." He looked rigid, nervous.

"Well that's alright. Have you taken any turns since the shop? If not, or if you remember the route, let's just back track and start over." Bekah grumbled from where she sat next to me, heavily blinking to try warding off her weariness.

"What's wrong, are we almost there?" She covered her eyes and rubbed them with one hand, trying desparately to stay conscious.

"No, we'll be a while. Try to sleep some." She shook her head half-heartedly, though the battle against sleep was futile.

"No, I can..." She yawned widely, "I can stay up." Her eyes closed slowly when she said this.

"Don't. Sleep now." With a huff, she nodded and tried to lean against the door; But the driver had other plans. He did a three-point turnaround, putting us back on track to the ice cream shop. She hit her head on the window, and clutched the side of her head sleepily. Moaning quietly, she put her head on the seat behind her and stayed still. Soon, her breathing started to even out. Her head started to bob forward when we reached a stop sign, and I reached to grab her shoulders before she could slump over on herself. Without thinking, I layed her against me to keep her still. She stirred some, and adjusted herself to my chest, making herself comfortable.

She was like a heat tablet, seriously just _radiating_ warmth. It almost concerned me, until I realized that we had been in a car with heated seats, and that's why her back was so warm. After a minute, I started getting tired myself. I told the driver to wake me up when we were about 20 minutes away, then settled into the plush leather. Before I knew it, I was out.

About an hour later, the driver called out to wake me up. I blinked sleep out of my eyes and realized we were only about 5 or 10 minutes from Rebekah's house. I stretched carefully, one limb at a time to avoid jostling Rebekah, and turned the overhead light onto the lowest setting available. The limo was dimly lit in orange, illuminating Mitskuni and Rebekah, both taking in the deep, easy breaths that come with sleep.

I gathered my sweater with one hand, the one that wasn't holding Bekah close to me, and threw it over my shoulder. I saw her sinch sack as well and slid that over to myself. I opened it and dug through it for her house keys, placing them on the seat so the driver could grab them and help me unlock the door. When we pulled in her driveway, I carefully slid my right arm under her legs, and slipped her off of the seat, onto my chest. I cradled her like a baby while the driver opened the door for me.

I had the driver grab the keys and walk to the door with me, sliding the door of the shortened limousine closed behind us. As he started to put the key in the door handle, it opened of it's own accord.

Or so I thought. Behind it, the light cast the shadow of the silhouetted man over us, leaving us to stare blankly at the block of shadow before us.

The block of shadow that was Rebekah's father, that is.

And boy, he didn't look happy at all.


	19. Chapter 19

A sound escaped my mouth as the man stepped forward a bit. I started to step back as well, then instead took one forward, realizing that he was actually stepping to the side, allowing us inside. I looked at the driver, nodding my head sideways toward the sillhouette, and he handed him his house keys. When he started back to the car, I slid inside the house carefully.

"You're Takashi." He looked at me up and down as he turned toward the light, illuminating his face. I saw blue eyes the same stunning shade as Rebekah's, framed by a round face and a thick body. I remember him telling my parents and I about his military background, and found it easy to believe that this man was an ex-marine. "The Morinozuka boy?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." His shaved head glinted as he nodded to himself.

"If you could take her upstairs...?" He indicated the stairs, which were next to the door, with his chin.

I nodded and turned carefully. I turned sideways so that her head was supported while I walked. Peering around the rooms, all with doors open, I tried to decipher which was hers. At the end of the hall, with three rooms branching off of it, I found hers. It was obviously a girl's room, which might be why she took it. It was painted a light blue on two opposing walls, and the other two walls were a soft, foamy green. The bed was covered partially by a thick, purple comforter- the black sheets still showing where she'd obviously whipped the covers off herself this morning. There was a small white bedside table with a lamp on it, and a black alarm clock with glowing green numbers. The window was shut, as were the thin, decorative curtains that hung there as well.

Slowly, I set her on the bed, letting my arm slide out from under her, and with my free hand, pulled over a pillow to set under her head. I leaned with her, trying to be gentle as I placed her head on the pillow, but stopped before I stood back up.

My face was about 6 inches from hers.

At this realization, I felt my face grow warm. _It's not like I should be embarrassed... _I reasoned with myself. _I'm just... _Unconciously, I got closer, eying her perfect lips with a previously unknown passion.

I small tingle on my neck(and somewhere else, I might add...) made me see what I was doing and mentally slap myself.

I jumped up, my face tingling with a blush I never thought I'd feel. Still being careful, I slid the sheet and comforter back over her and left the room. I shut the door behind me and leaned on it, slightly shuddering. _**What**, exactly, do I think I'm doing!?_ I asked myself. _Was I going to **kiss **her? Really!?_ I palmed my face, knowing I was being rediculous.

I slipped down the stairs, slinking back downstairs as quietly as I could. Sadly, I couldn't avoid Rebekah's father. The tinge that had stained my face only a moment ago had faded, thankfully. I looked at him, stading in the doorway to the kitchen with his arms crossed. He looked stern. Definitally worth fearing.

Not by fighting, of course, I could beat anyone- save for Mitskuni. I was scared because I felt as if he didn't approve of me.

"She's asleep." He held my gaze, judging me heavily.

"Thanks. Let's have a talk." He jerked his chin toward the kitchen, and lead me through a doorway in there. It lead into the living room, which only had two small couches, a coffee-table, and a tv. Very simple compared to my own dwellings.

He sat on the larger of the two and indicated with his hand that I sit on the smaller one, facing him. It was about 7:30 pm.

"Do you know why I came to Japan, Morinozuka-sama?"

"No, sir."

"I came here because I love my family. I love keeping them safe from harm. I love that they're secure wherever they are because of my business. I came here so that others could feel that same feeling of security. Do you see what I mean, Morinozuka-sama?"

I nodded, "Yes, sir."

"So then you can see how I'm not very happy that you took my daughter on a _date_ without my knowing?" I mentally stabbed myself. How could I, Mr. Gentleman of the Host Club gents, not think to ask his permission.

"Of course, sir, I apologize for that. I wasn't thinking." I looked down at my hands, trying to think, and looked back up, right in his eye. "If it would make you feel better, I _do_ have some feelings for your daughter- but this date was just something to help us get to know each other. I realize my mistake now, and I hope you'll forgive me and not think so badly of me."

For a few moments, I was horrified that he was going to despise me for the rest of his daughter's unmarried days. But then, miraculously, he smiled at me.

"I understand where you're coming from. I did the same thing with her mother. Here, let me get us some tea and we can talk a bit more." I nod at him and go outside to tell the driver my plans. He'll take Mitskuni home and then come back to pick me up. Since it only takes me a moment, I return to the living room. I see the family laptop sitting idle under a pile of American sports magazines. There's a notebook with Rebekah's handwriting on the cover. It states simply; _Bekah's_.

I flip through to see pages upon pages of doodles, sketches, song lyrics, staffs with notes on them, ideas jotted in every free corner of every single page. After some skimming, I looked at the laptop, it's screen blank, but the power button blinking the orange signal that said it was only asleep. I moved the magazines and tapped the finger pad. The screen lit up quickly, revealing a YouTube page with a video displayed on it, a large play button shadowing Rebekah's face. I look at the title of the video to see it says '_got a hot crush, got a hot date!'_ in all capital letters.

I smile to myself, noticing that the date is from yesterday. I click the play button, turning the volume down from obnoxious to audible. Rebekah's rich voice seranades on and on about how she's going to a waterpark with her friends, one of which is a stunning, nice, kendo champion from her class. I start slightly, unaware that this is how she felt about... But wait, I wasn't the only handsome kendo player in our class... There was also...

Kira Shibasaki.

I heard a creak behind me and turned to see Mr. Dybowski standing in the doorway behind me. "She can be very obvious sometimes. And other times, not so much. Tea?"

I try to hide my dissapointment and sit back on the couch. I look at the video and laugh again. Could she really be so naive as to assume I(or Kira) wouldn't find this? She's way too open for emotional safety. Her dad handed me a cup, and sat back with a bit of a groan.

"Let me tell you a bit about my daughter. She's been brought up a bit roughly, over in the states... Her mother and I, we weren't the best examples as parents. Heck, we weren't the best parents at all. Anyway, we got divorced when she was in 3rd grade, maybe? She didn't seem affected by it at first, and that in itself was a miracle to us. By the time she hit middle school, we were sure we were in the clear. She'd transferred schools, she lived with her mom and her brother and their step-dad and step-siblings... She seemed pretty happy. She was fine, till about 8th grade.

"She'd always been a mother's girl, she loved her mom, and that was that. But when she hit 8th grade, she wanted freedom. She realized that she was a bit thick around the middle, and that she didn't wear the cutest clothes like the other girls did. Eventually, she figured out a system of what she liked, what she looked good in, and how to dress so that she looked good. One of the only problems with that was that her mom didn't like it. She was a strict Christian, and what she said went. No matter what, Rebekah couldn't escape it.

"They started fighting really badly. It was so bad that there was a nightly fight. Every day, she dreaded going home. She hated knowing that her mom favored her brother and she never really got much from her. It wasn't a very good situation, and I'm shocked I didn't realize that earlier. She started writting letters to herself, the only way she could really vent- and I suppose that finding one of those notes was when we found out about it." He rubbed his head and sighed, hating the memories of that dark time.

"Uh, about what, sir?" I was horrified for the answer.

"Oh, I suppose she wouldn't have told you... Well, Rebekah cut herself her entire freshman year of Highschool. That was two years ago, obviously, and she still hasn't really gotten over the depression totally. She constantly thought about death, and eventually, after a really bad fight with her mom one night, she told me she'd be running away the next morning, and while I didn't believe her, she left home with a back pack, and traveled about 10 miles to the next city over. She hid around the town all morning, till the library over there opened, and sat inside. She read, waiting for someone to come get her. Finally, I was going through my messages, about noon that day, went to go get her, and we had a nice long chat with her, some cops, and her mom. She hadn't done it to get anywhere, she's smart. She did it to get our attention, to tell us how bad it really was at her mom's place.

"Eventually, once they started counseling, it got a lot better. She went through her Sophomore year in America with a much better additude about life, and was much more excited to be alive. Much happier to experience things. She wasn't nearly as bad as she used to be. When she decided to come here and continue the business after me, her mom agreed without even fighting. She thought it was a great idea.

"In short, she's not the tough, strong girl you think she is. She's still weak. Stronger than previously, but weak. I hope you realize how much she needs stability here and now. I hope you realize how much she needs someone to love her, here and now. I hope you realize how much she needs _you_, son. Do good to take care of her."

I was stunned. I'd have had no idea that Rebekah was so... Vulnerable. I had no clue about her background. This was so utterly shocking that I nearly teared up. I stared down into my tea, noticing the tea stalk standing straight up in the green liquid. _Good luck..._

"Dybowski-sama, it would be my pleasure to take care of her. I won't ever back down from that." I looked back up at him. "No matter what happens."


	20. Chapter 20

_***Back to Rebekah's view!***_

I woke up on Sunday morning, April 21st, with my eyes crusted shut. Groggy and feeling a bit naseous, I sat up and rubbed my eyes open. _What happened last night? _I checked my clock, 9:03 am. I gasped out loud. _Shoot! I have to get to..._

I remembered going to the waterpark with Honey-senpai and Takashi-kun, but really nothing after we got ice cream. I inhaled deeply and realized why I felt sick. I hadn't taken a shower since yesterday.

Now, I'm no clean-freak, but swimming in chlorine gives me what I call 'chlorine-lung', which basically means every time I breath in, I feel like a take in a deep breath of pure chlorine. It's really horrible, it makes my lungs feel tight and scratchy, and my throat tastes like some sort of sour bile. I also realized that if I hadn't taken a shower, then I must've been asleep before I got home... Which means someone carried me to my bed.

I blushed when I realized what'd happened, knowing that Takashi-kun must've been in my room and put me in my bed. I snatched up jeans and a t-shirt, not caring what I grabbed all that much. I shot down the hall to the shower, scrubbing the sticky chlorine off my dry skin. I shampooed my hair 3 times, attempting to make sure both my scalp and my hair were empty of chemicals. I got out of the shower, threw on my clothes, and hopped down the stairs without bothering to touch my hair any more. It would be a futile attempt anyway.

My dad was sitting at the table, reading a paper, a plate of bacon and eggs still steaming in front of him. I glanced over and saw that his shoes were neatly placed on the shoe rack, which meant he'd been here since yesterday. He _never_ straightened his shoes until the day after he came home. He never has, probably never will. That also meant that he'd been here when Takashi had carried me into my room.

Which meant he'd talked to him.

"Morn- ugh," I coughed a bit, clearing my throat of the sickly chlorine feeling. "Morning, dad."

"Morning. Did you have a nice time at the waterpark?" I had told him I was going to the waterpark with Morinozuka-senpai and Haninozuka-senpai... He'd seemed okay with it, but by his tone I could tell he didn't like it. At the time, I'd ignored it, but now I regretted that...

"I did! Though I fell asleep on the way back... But I suppose you knew that?" He nodded.

"Your friend Morinozuka and I had a talk after he took you upstairs."

I groaned loudly. "What did you do? How much did you say about... That stuff that happened...? What exactly did you say?" I covered my eyes with my hands, somehow knowing what he was going to say.

"I talked with him about... _Relationships_, and... some other things. But that's all. Nothing major." He whipped the paper to stiffen the spine, not looking me in the eye. Somehow I knew that he wasn't going to tell me whether he said anything about my... Situation... So I dropped that while I still had some sanity; But I didn't like where it was going.

"Okay," I said with an exasperated huff, "Well, I'm going to take Dakota for a walk... I might stop by Kira's, but it'll just be a stop. I'll be back soon."

"Alrighty then... Do you want breakfast first kiddo?"

"No thanks, dad, I'll be alright."

I grabbed my phone and the long leash we keep the dog on and went outside in my sandals. Through my socks(yes, I was wearing socks and sandals...) I could feel the morning dew still dripping down the grass. I greeted my miniature wolf with a pat on the head and switched the collar hoop over to the leash. We walked down my street, Washington, and out onto the main road that ran right through the town by Ouran. I walked quickly, knowing I was going to be late. Thank God I live so close...

When I got to the school, I knew that I was late. The host club meeting had been made official on Friday, and I'd completely forgotten about it till just this morning...! I huffed my way up to music room 3, my hair still clumped and wet from my shower, and frizzy from air drying on the run. It probably looked like a clump of creepers had died on my head... I gasped again, stopping short- _What's Takashi-kun going to think of my hair!?_

I shook my head, _I'm being stupid_.

I reached the large, creamy doors and whipped the handle down. A burst of cool, fresh air hit my face, welcoming me with the scent of roses. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, knowing I was about to spend an hour with my favorite person.

As I opened my eyes and Dakota stretched the leash in front of me, I smiled, seeing the boys all huddled around in a circle- waiting for me to join.

"Hey." Takashi smiled down at me slightly, and I smiled back- remembering how he'd given me that exact same look when we danced at the waterpark only yesterday.

"Hey! Oh, Tama-chan, you look... Spiffy... What are you all dressed up for?"

Tamaki looked at me as if I'd just gotten the cure for cancer and handed it to him in a little gift box. "Why, Dybowski-senapi! How _observant_ of you! Thank you so much for your noticing, it flatters me to the depths of my soul!" He bowed, and I bopped my fist on his head.

"Cut it out you goof. Why are you dressed so nicely?" I'd meant to dress well, too, actually... I usually go to church, and I love my God, but I knew that if I was going on a date I wouldn't be able to get up.

"Oh, heh heh," He chuckled, a lot more relaxed now that the drama was over and done with, "Well, you see, my father took me to a formal gathering this morning, and I came straight here." He smiled nervously, "So anyways, this meeting is just to tell you that Rebekah will start actually _hosting_ tomorrow afternoon! I know, she's been watching, observing, learning, but now you're the real thing Bekah-senpai! Congratulations!" He laughed and hugged me, followed closely by Honey and the twins, while Kyoya stood by and nodded approvingly. Mori, on the other hand, stood back.

I thought he was ignoring me, but it turns out he was just waiting until he had me all to his self. I watched with wide eyes as he approached, till he was only about six inches away, then hugged me tight to his chest, squeezing me tenderly. I sighed and closed my eyes, dreading with all my might the moment in which he pulled away. When he did, I slapped a smile on my face and looked around at them.

"Thanks guys, really! This is great. But, is that really all this meeting was for?"

"Erm, no... Not _all_ it was for... There's one more thing," Tamaki hesitated and looked up at Takashi-kun as if waiting for approval. He nodded his consent silently. "Well, Mori-senpai has asked that we help prepare you for something more than hosting... Something immensely difficult..."

"Oh, come on guys, I'm sure it can't be _that_ bad! What's up?" I waved it off like yesterday's leftovers, but Tamaki answered me seriously;

"Takashi-sama's parents... Want to meet you. And you have to impress them." I was frozen.


	21. Chapter 21

I wasn't breathing.

I was staring straight into Tamaki's face, not believing what I was hearing.

I couldn't breathe.

"Rebekah-senpai? Are you all right?" Tama-kun noticed the lack of motion in my chest and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me gently, "Are you even breathing!?"

I gasped and looked Takashi-kun directly in the eye, stating simply, "I have to train... To impress... your _parents_!?"

He looked sadly down at me. Tamaki started up again, "They're a bit scary, but don't worry- we can train you for that in no time!" He grinned at his self-confidence.

"You... have to- _train me_!?" The anger registered on my face, bringing them all to shock, save for Takashi-kun and Kyoya.

"Uh, wh- are you _angry_ with us, Rebekah?" The blonde uttered, not knowing how to register my emotions.

"Of _course_ I'm angry! Why do I need _training_ to_ impress _someone!?" My hands curled into fists, and I whipped around to face my stoic love, shouting, "What!? Am I not _good _enough then? Am I not _interesting_, or _well-mannered_, or _**pretty**_ enough to be taken seriously!?" Flustered, I whipped my hair out of my face and stood still, panting. As the flush of embarrassment paraded over my cheek bones, I stood straight up, hand on forehead, with my eyes shut. "I- I..." The tear dripped down my cheek before I could stop it. Funny thing was, I didn't feel like crying. I wasn't sad, or dissapointed. I was angry, insulted... And I hated that I'd let that slip.

Before I could get anything out after my stuttering, there was a pair of arms wrapped around me, hugging me tight to a very tall person. He spoke softly, leaning his head so that the whispers were right by my ear. "No. You are the most amazing person I know. You will never bore me, and I don't know a person on the planet as polite and kind as you. And most of all, you are _beautiful_. You're so, _so_ beautiful. _Never_ doubt that." At his words, two more tears rolled down my cheeks. I closed my eyes and listened to his voice as he kept speaking. "My parents, though, they don't judge people on that. They judge them on opinion. They don't care how incredible you may be, they don't care about your past. They care about appearances and how well you'd manage a company." His voice got even lower, so much that I knew I was the only one who'd be able to hear him speaking. "They're even more stoic than I am... So I wanted to prepare you. I don't want you to think badly of me because of them. It's not your fault... If you don't want to, you don't have to. I'm so sorry..." I knew he was only talking so much because he knew it hurt me that I 'needed training'... But I didn't want him to stop.

I sighed deeply, attempting to calm myself down. "No, it's... It's fine. I want to make a good impression. I'll do it." I pulled away(against my better judgement, I might add...) and looked around, shy about making a scene, but everyone was smiling- Honey's smile the biggest of them all.

"Wow Bekah-chan! I'm so proud of you! Really, my aunt and uncle are crazy scary sometimes!" My face goes blank. I continuously forget how Honey and Mori are so closely related... You'd never think... Honey was still talking, "And you have to tell them about that, kay?" He smiled childishly and dropped to a completely audible whisper, "Oh, and you and Takashi look really cute together! I told you you would be!" I blushed, shocked that he'd yell that out like that, and stood up as he pranced away to play with Dakota- who was still tied up to the piano in the corner of the room.

Somehow, I could feel Takashi-kun smiling to himself.

I told my dad that I had an emergency club meeting(I still hadn't explained what club... Dunno if dad would like the whole host club thing.) and that I'd only be home after another hour or two. In reality, I trained rigorously to smile, answer calmly about my views on things, and talk about my family's company like I'd invented something better than chocolate.

Takashi-kun and Honey told me what to say, while Hikaru and Kaoru acted as the Morinozukas. Tamaki looked on too see after my appearance, and Kyoya told me how I was doing the whole time. It was a pretty effective process.

When we were done, by about 11:30, earlier than expected, we all went out for treats. There was an ice cream shop in town, so Kyoya called a car(and had them bring a brush for my horrid hair) and we all went there. I was crazy happy when I realized that they had a _cheesecake_ flavor. Sadly though, they only put strawberries on it. I was looking forward to some blueberries, too.

We sat around a large, synthetic marble table, chatting and licking the cones in the cool spring weather. Sounds of pleasure escaped from Honey and I constantly, savoring the sweets that we lived for. Honey had a tripple chocolate fudge cone locked between his hands, and was sitting on my right. Counter clock-wise showed Hikaru and Kaoru, both eating hot fudge sundaes, then Tamaki, eating french vanilla(I think he did it as a pun...), then Kyoya, eating mint chocolate chip with a spoon, and on my left sat Takashi-kun, eating blueberries in vanilla ice cream while holding Dakota's leash in one hand. We got her a scoop of ice cream and some water. She looked fairly happy.

I laughed along with the guys, realizing that while I didn't know them very well- save for the research I did a week or two ago- I was still good friends with all of them. I smiled when Mori offered me some blueberries, and I gave him a couple strawberries, too. After that we pretty much just shared. Hikaru looked up at us inquisitively as I laughed with senpai- he'd been trying to take _all_ of my berries- and kaoru spoke with a smirk;

"So, are you guys calling it official, or were you just sorta gonna get together?" Mori and I stopped messing around, my mouth an inch from his cone, his fork in mine.

"Uh, well, I never really..." I blushed, realizing that I _hadn't_ really thought about calling him my boyfriend before. I mean, I'd thought about loving him, and the feeling being mutual- but that was really the extent of it...

"It's official." I whipped my head up at Takashi-kun, shocked at him, "Well," He looked back down at his nearly empty cone, a tinge of blush coating his face, "Aren't we...?"

I looked down at my own cone, and smiled. I looked up at the twins and stated simply, "You heard the man, so be it." I laughed a bit and leaned gently against Takashi-kun's arm.

**_*You heard it right! They're official! ~goes nuts with moe~ Suggestions are appreciated... PLEEEEEASE review! I love you all for reading! :'D*_**


	22. Chapter 22

****_Sorry for the late update guys! I've been crazy busy with my costume and school work! Thanks soo much for all the support! Please review. See you nex_****_t_****_ chapter!_****

I stood still in front of my bedroom mirror, wearing a slimming black evening dress. It reached just above my knees, not tight to my skin, and was sleeveless. I made sure it was covering my chest modestly, but the neck-line was still formal. To accent it I wore a tight to the neck string of black leather, with a shining charm on the end, stating simply, _Love_. My hair was straightened, pulled back in a half ponytail with my bangs framing my face. My ears showed underneath, revealing two black teardrops- the same type of charm that lay on my neck- suspended from my earlobes. I wore my makeup light, not wanting to over do it, just a neutral shadow with eyeliner and mascara. Instead of gloss or lipstick, I chose to put chapstick on my lips(I use Vaseline, so it lasts a _long_ time). I had closed toed shoes on, but had painted my nails for when I had to either switch to slippers, or take off my shoes.

I huffed, knowing I looked good, but not sure if it was too much. What if Takashi got his facts wrong, and this was just a casual dinner? What if they thought I didn't look good? What if they thought I looked like a hooker!? What if, what if, what if, what if, what if...

A vibration across the room drew me out of my worried trance. The screen read;

_New Message-_

_Takashi-kun_

_Read Now/Read Later_

I selected the obvious choice and read the message. _Hey, be there in five. You dressed up?_

I quickly typed out a response, still packing my purse for whatever I might need. _Of course! Are you...?_

The reply came just as quickly, he must be close. _Yeah. Make sure you're ready... I wanna get this over with..._

I sighed sarcasticly. _He has no faith in me, does he?_ Without responding, I set my phone back in my bag and packed it with a couple more things. I brought something for Takashi-kun's little sister, Ouka, because yesterday was her birthday. I also grabbed a small vial of perfume, spritzing a bit on my wrists, ankles, and then wafted it toward my chest. I've learned that that's the best way to smell good and not be over powering. I slid the perfume into the inner side pocket of the purse, threw in a brush in case my hair got riled up, and at the last moment, added a wallet-sized picture book to the mix. Heck, who knows- they might want to see my family.

A horn honked in the driveway, signaling that it was time to go. _Hm, they're early._ I paraded downstairs in my one inch tall heels, noticing Takashi in our hallway, speaking to my father. My dad laughed, and Mori let out a small smile. _Good, they like each other now._ They both looked up as I cleared my throat, even though they both knew I was there(Both of them were sharper than tacks and those heels were loud- they couldn't have _not_ noticed me). They didn't even try to hide their reactions.

My dad smiled, his eyes crinkling in the same spot they always did when he was happy or proud. His eyes lit up, and I could almost hear him thinking, _My little girl_... He slapped his hand on Takashi's shoulder, stating simply, "Take care of her."

Takashi's eyes were open in awe(Compared to his usual eyes half open look), and there was something in them that I couldn't quite make out... My dad's hand snapped him back to reality, his head whipped around, and he smiled knowingly. "Of course I will."

There was a bit of a ceremony after that, what with all the 'good-bye's and 'good luck's and such, but after what seemed like an eternity(only 2 minutes in actuallity) we made it out to the car. Takashi-kun opened the door for me, so I slid in and made myself comfortable on the plush leather seating. He stooped low, closed the door, and pretty much snuggled right up to me. He said loudly to the driver, "Home, please," and turned his attention back to me.

"You look amazing," He said, then whispered to me, "I'd rather take you on a real date than to my own house...We'll do that sometime." He tightened his arm, which was wrapped around my waist, drawing us closer together. I carefully pressed my face into his chest, knowing there weren't going to be many times we'd be able to get this close.

We sat like that the whole fifteen minutes it took to get to his house.

The driver slowed to a stop, leaning back to say, "We're here, sir." Takashi nodded his thanks, I smiled, and my- can I really say it?- _boyfriend_- _squee_!- delicately extracted me from the car by my wrist. I hopped a little, as one of my shoes had slid off a bit, and we walked up to the house in a good mood. The outside was very traditionally Japanese, the roof covered with intricate designs and molds, the sides simple wood. To the left of the house there was a field, with a small building, and a circle of dummies, probably for martial arts. There was a ridge of trees surrounding the back of it, and a small stream and pool circling the front edge. It was mostly hidden from sight by the road, but next to the door, it was plainly visible. Takashi was about to open the door for me, when it was pulled away from him by a servant. For the first time, I looked at the inside of his house.

It matched what I expected it to be, dark mahogany wood made up the walls and floor, framed with black trim. The furniture was traditionally Japanese, intricate carvings shown on adorned shelves and tables. I was surprised to see a Bible sitting delicately in the middle of one wall, the only object sitting on a dark wooden decoration table. The lights were bright, but because of the dark walls and floor, the room was comfortably lit, almost dim. It had a warm, homey feel to it.

The servant asked to take my jacket, bringing me back to the present in time to smile sweetly, and see the Morinozukas walk over to the doorway from the living room together. They stood in order of height, father, mother, sister, all three of them with jet black hair, all three of them tall, and all of them very handsome. I smiled at them, noticing how stoic Mori-kun's parents were, and how curiously excited Ouka looked. His father had the same gorgeous charcoal gray eyes he did, while his mother and little sister had icy blue ones. Takashi touched my arm lightly, he introduced me as I looked at him, then back to his family.

"Father, mother, Ouka, this is Rebekah. She's the girl I've been telling you about." I smiled politely and bowed respectfully. He looked at me and indicated with his eyes that I say something.

"It's very nice to meet you! You have a lovely home." I put on a slightly bigger smile, hoping my hair wasn't ruffled from the snuggling on the way here. Takashi's mother lifted her chin slightly, looking me up and down- I waited expectantly, trained to respond to an emotionless demon mother.

She took a deep breath, and my heart raced expectantly. I was ready for any kind of rejection, but instead, she smiled.

"Oooh! I'm so happy! Takashi- with a girlfriend! And you're so pretty! Look at you...!" She hurried over to me in her red, black and gold kimono, clutching my arms gently. "I simply cannot _wait_ to talk to you! We're going to be very close!" She shook her finger in my face to emphasize, and I laughed with her, not quite sure how to respond. I looked over at Takashi.

Between the shock of realizing his parents had a bit of emotion in them, and seeing that his mom _liked_ me, Takashi-kun's face was priceless.


	23. Chapter 23

***Sorry for the delay, and shortness of this one... I hit a block bros. :(***

It was awkward. That's all I could think.

I don't know what it is about rich people with small families having humongous tables, but the Morinozukas were one of them, and it was awkward. The table would've easily seated 8 spaciously- and had enough chairs there too- but they only had enough people to fill five slots. Takashi's mother steered me toward the middle seat on one side of the table, while his father stoicly led his kids to the other side. Takashi sat facing me, but looking down, also in the middle seat. To one side sat his dad, and to his other, his mother and sister. I was completely seperated from _everyone_. The only word I could think of was- _awkward_.

After everyone was seated, Mrs. Morinozuka was the only one still smiling other than me. It was like the smile was plastered on her face, but it was a genuine one.

"Ahem," She cleared her throat slightly, "So, Rebekah, I never really introduced my family to you. I am Hachi, Takashi's mother. Though, I'm sure you figured that out of course! My husband," She indicated the far end of the table, "Rokuro. He's the sixth son in the family, hence his name, and he has made our family's fortune by himself. You know, obviously, Taka-chan," She smiled and giggled at me like she'd discovered the funniest thing since fat people falling, then motioned to her daughter, Ouka, "This is Ouka, our youngest, in fact- she turned thirteen only yesterday!"

As Ouka smiled politely at me, clearly happy to have her new age brought up, I gasped slightly, "Oh! Ouka! Takashi-kun told me your birthday was yesterday," I carefully slid my arm down to the floor, reaching for my purse, "I brought you something! My father went back to the US and brought some things for his clients. He had a lot left over, but I thought that you might like this..." I rummaged as gracefully as I could for the small, delicately wrapped package I'd brought with me.

I handed it to her happily, knowing full well how popular it was in Japan. She looked shocked at me, like I'd just crossed an electric fence by levitation. After a delay from the overall surprise, she tore it open carefully.

As she let the present show, there was a collective gasp all around the table. Mori's head fell into his hand, his elbow supported by the table, facepalming himself. He groaned slightly.

"Oh, wow! I've never seen anything so..." Ouka struggled for the right words, "Amazing! I've seen these in stores but I've never had one!"

"You've never had a-"

"You..." Takashi's father's voice trembled with the strain of speaking while very emotional, "You dare to bring such a, a... a _mockery_ into my house!?" He stood, his hands landing on the table with force. _I see where Takashi-kun gets his temper from..._ I thought. "You would dare bring something so, _unhealthy_ into this place!?"

I sat shocked, stunned into silence. I'd only brought her some-

"Father, please. It's a common thing in America, she didn't know-"

"Rokuro- please, not now-"

Ouka stood up as the commotion unfolded, her father beyond anger, her older brother and mother trying to calm him. "Father." She stated simply. Everyone settled down for a moment. I got the impression she was as silent as her brother.

"Y-yes... Ouka? What is it...?" Her mother hesitantly asked.

"It's only candy. Kit-kats are perfectly okay. It's not like it's poison." They sat stunned in the quiet, myself being the only one still sitting.

"Ca... Candy?" Her father seemed not to know the meaning.

"Yes," Ouka laughed at her father, "It's a _treat_. It's for _enjoyment_."

That's right. I'd gotten her kit-kats. They only had crazy flavors here, so I just guessed she'd never tasted a normal chocolate kit-kat. I'd asked Mori about allergies... But I had never expected _this_ to come from... From... _Candy_!

They all looked over at me at the same time. Takashi's parents realized what I'd just witnessed, hiding their faces by fixing their clothes, or the table decorations. Ouka giggled and sat down, her parents closely following suit. Takashi remained standing, his face transfixed on mine.

"Taka-chan... Honey? Will you please sit down, we're all embarrassed enough as it is..." She smiled shyly at me and looked back at her son. "Taka-chan, please..."

He still stared at me, fighting an internal battle. Finally, he straightened his back and composed himself. He grabbed his plate, cup and utensils, and carried them over to the other side of the table. _My_ side. He slid out the chair once he set down his things, and scooted himself closer to me. His father looked on with horrified surprise. I could feel the daggers he was aiming at the tall man next to me.

"Takashi..."

"Let's all just stop pretending, and be ourselves. I'm most comfortable here."

As the family took that in, I smiled, and started to speak, but was interrupted by a door swinging open.

"Dinner is served ma'am." The servant bowed, and the feast began.


	24. Chapter 24

The sound of laughter and clinking silverware faded from the table at last, after about two hours worth of dining and chatting about nothing. I sat back slightly, content and happy to be there, with Mori by my side, Ouka munching happily on her birthday treat, and Hachi going on about how she and her husband had met. Rokuro was smiling warmly at the memories of his own youth. Only somewhat listening, Takashi gripped my hand under the edge of the table, the other one toying with a knife. _Him and his sharp objects!_ I thought warily- though I smiled as I watched.

This lasted maybe five minutes before the servants came back to clean up the table. Only as I watched them did I notice Ouka watching _us_. I smiled at her.

She smiled back. I added her to the list of people who liked me in my head, and reviewed the lists all together. Rokuro was the only one I had to impress now... Takashi's father. I felt the weight of that knowledge press slightly on my shoulders when I realized that.

"...Ebekah?" I snapped my eyes up, realizing I'd started to doze. Not like a 'slump-in-my-seat-eyes-closing' doze, just an 'I'm-really-comfortable-and-I'm-zoning-out' doze..

"Oh, I'm so sorry... I must have drifted off a bit there... I always do when I'm comfortable..." I blushed against my will, as always, and tried to laugh it off a bit.

"Well, I can fix that! How about a tour of the house? It'll be great! You already said you like the outside, now let me show you the rest of it...!" She babbled on about the structure, the materials, the colors... I actually found a great deal of it interesting- only to forget it.

The only part of the tour I really remembered, dialogue wise, in detail, was when Hachi opened the door to Mori's room. She placed her hand on her mouth, holding her elbow up with her other hand, and sighed. "He's had this room since he was born. We've repainted it three times to match his personality, and _gender_, through the years..." She chuckled and pointed to the upper-right corner of the wall across from the door. There were two colors in the corner hidden mostly by the current color of the walls. There was a soft, baby-ish pink, and a smooth green that coated the wall before the paint transitioned into a dark blue. Still smiling, she continued, "We could have _sworn_ he was going to be a girl... Luckily we had some extra green paint lying around..."

I looked over at her, watching her eyes as she reminisced on the days when she had a baby boy. They had a faraway look to them, like she was about to cry from the emotion held in those past 17 years. It was really sentimental.

What was it with gooey stuff over here in Japan?

We walked downstairs a bit after that, since there wasn't much about Mori to discuss. He was sweet as a kid, good in school, good at martial arts... Always stuck with Mitskuni. _Shocker there_, I thought.

The rest of the family was discussing something downstairs, but I didn't catch any of it. They stopped their conversing when we walked in. Both of the boys stood.

But I hesitated in my thinking. _They aren't boys, Bekah, they're men_. I smiled to myself. _Again with the sentimental stuff._

Rokuro made a basket with his fingers, a habit that business men pick up a lot. "Rebekah-san, I never got the chance to properly apologize for earlier... With the... The _candy_." He paced wearily, not sure what to say, or how to say it, "So, here's this, I am sorry that you witnessed what you did. I hope I should never be so uncomfortable as to let you see that again. It was silly of me, and rude. And I-" Takashi placed his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Dad, you're fine." Rokuro had to look up slightly at his son, who's height still somehow shadowed his father's.

"Right, of course..." He trailed off, and I smiled to ease the tension.

"It's all fine, everyone has those days..." My voice fails me as I see the clock behind Rokuro, reading the 11:30 in roman numerals. I gasped slightly.

"Is it really that late already!? We only left around five... How on Earth did we spend six hours here, just eating and looking at the house!?"

Ouka laughs at herself, smacking her palm against her forehead. "Sorry about that, it's three hours ahead!" I looked at her quizically. "Oh man, I guess I forgot about that... I played a joke a couple days back on some of the servants... I never set it back!" She slipped over to the clock, quickly winding it back three hours.

"O-oh... Then it's only 8:30...?" She nodded.

"Either way, we should probably drop you off at home soon." Takashi spoke up quickly, seeing his opportunity to escape the awkwardness that was his family.

"Well, we don't really _have_ to leave now, I mean, I expected to be out a lot later than this, and-"

We were all silenced by my cell phone's ringing. I mentally smacked myself. _You didn't turn that on silent!?_

The tune was an American one, Sin and Sebastian's 'Shut Up and Sleep With Me'. I fumbled in my pocket while the family blushed at the lyrics. All of them knew enough English to tell what he was saying. I hit the answer button, chuckling nervously, and mouthed _Excuse me_. I turned and answered the phone.

"Hello? Bekah?"

"Dad?"

"Yeah, you almost done there? Did you talk business? What's up?"

I turned back to my audience, blushing, and motioned that I'd be in the bathroom, mouthing that it was my father.

I shut the door behind me, hoping desperately that they couldn't hear me, and didn't think this was rude...

"Dad? Hey, I'm still here! Do you want me to come home?"

"Well, it'll make a better impression if you seem like the organized, well-behaved girl, but you can tell them I want you home. I think there's something we need to talk about."

I felt nervousness well up inside me, but answered as calmly as I could, "Of course. I'll head home as soon as I can."

I closed the phone and took only a few moments to compose myself in the mirror. Finally, I slid out and slapped on a disappointed smile. "Uh, hey... I'm really sorry about this, but it turns out something came up and I'm going to have to head home here soon." Hachi sighed, knowing she'd lost her friend for the night.

"Well, it was going to happen anyways. I suppose that Taka-chan will escort you home, and we'll just have to wait till the next time we see you to pull out the baby pictures." She gently hugged me, and gave a meaningful look at the other members of the family. Rokuro silently shook my hand, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn't just tolerating me. _Good_. Ouka freely hugged me, excited to have another fun girl around.

Hachi looked at Takashi expectantly, as if he were supposed to say good-bye as well.

"What?" He said evenly, "I'm dropping her off, aren't I?"

The car ground to a stop on my uphill driveway, signaling that we had to get out. Yes, we were cuddling again. Why not?

We walked to the door slowly, hoping to prolong the night as much as possible. Like the cliche couple we were, we stopped at the door, only to face each other awkwardly.

I broke the silence first.

"Look, I uh, I had a really good time and all tonight... All things considered. You're family seems great." He smiled a bit back at me, dropped it, and almost looked... Nervous?

Suddenly he was leaning toward me, my heart was fluttering.

His face was really close to mine. _Oh my goodness_, I thought, _He knows the 90% rule._

He was leaned 90% of the way over me, waiting for _me _to go the other 10% to... to kiss him.

I couldn't help it. I tilted my chin up, eyelids lowering in response.

And then...

_**BAM!**_

But it's not what I thought. Takashi was facing away from the house, as red-faced as I was, sucking his lips in- while my dad stood in the doorway of the house, yellow light washing over two extremely embarrassed teenagers.

_***Just a note, the song above, 'Shut Up and Sleep With Me', is actually one of my favorite songs- because I associate it with Mori and Jack Frost. xD***_


	25. Chapter 25

For what seemed like ages, we both stared straight ahead, eyes stretched wide, blushes getting deeper by the second. Finally, my father broke the silence, slamming the door shut. We were alone again.

Takashi turned to me, the romance in the moment evaporating, but he seemed determined about something. He clenched his fist, eyes closed for a moment, then opened them again. His blush had evaporated like rain on a Texas sidewalk. He looked completely normal again. My eyes were stuck on obnoxiously wide, my blush still outrageously red. I stammered for a bit, waiting for something, and he closed the short gap between us with one step.

He was right in front of me again. I was looking up at him, frozen, my heart fluttering again.

For the second time, he leaned close to me.

My throat practically collapsed in on itself.

My eyelids were closing again. It was deja-vu. Craziness.

I felt his hand slide beneath my arm, curling around to rest on the small of my back.

And I felt his lips press against...

My forehead. My sigh of relief was like a gust of wind.

I mean, I wasn't relieved that he wasn't kissing me, I realized now that I wanted that desparately. No, I was relieved because of how incredibly awkward it would've been if he had... And to be honest, even if it was him kissing me, I didn't want my _first real kiss_ to be so... Bad. I collapsed into myself, letting my head flop onto his chest. Without my knowing, my arms reached for him, clinging to his back, even though I realized I'd have to let go in a moment or two. We breathed in harmony for a moment, before the driver flicked the lights at us.

I sighed, letting go hesitently. "I'm... I'm sorry about that..." I forced a nervous laugh and sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night when my dad got a hold of me.

Takashi smiled, and caressed my face slightly.

"Worth it." He walked away with the cool saunter that no one else in this world has.

I watched the car pull away until it turned the corner and slid out of sight. Then, I turned to the inevitable.

I intake as much breath as I can, letting it out in a huff. _This is going to suck._ I think as I slip through the door, trying to avoid it.

"Rebekah." _Crap._

"Yeah, dad?"

"Did you have a nice night?" He flicked the paper he was holding, but I knew he wasn't reading.

"Uh, yes. We all had a good time... His parents are really nice... And... Uh..." I shuffled my feet, embarassed, though he wasn't even facing me. "Ya know, it was actually really tiring, so I'm just gonna go... Go to bed now..." _Almost clear...!_

The stairs took WAY too long to get up- within two steps my dad called me back, "Bekah." _Shoot..._

I stopped. "Yes, daddy?"

"There's a business dinner that we'll be attending soon. Make sure you don't make any plans with Morinozuka-sama for that night. It's Wednesday, exactly a week from now. I'll be introducing you to a lot of important people. Think you can handle it?"

"S," I hesitated, "Sure, dad. I can handle that much." I nodded, even though he was still turned away from me, and headed upstairs a bit more calmly. I got into my room, dropping my purse on the bedside library, and collapsed onto the bed. "Damn, that was scary." I covered my face and let the cool of my hands seem into my burning skin. Slowly, I stood. Surveying my room, I saw what I expected would be there. A large white bulge sat on my window seat, awaiting me.

"Hm... So that's why dad opened the door so eagerly..." I walked around the bed to the long cover, noticing the plastic hanger sticking out of the top, near the zipper. I sighed and closed my eyes, wondering what gaudy dress dad wanted my to wear now.

The zipper sounded harsh against the hesitant silence. Opening my eyes, I gasped, all awkward memories from tonight forgotten.

What sat under my shaking fingers was a beautiful garment, a silk underlayer with a gauzy covering layed neatly on top of it. It would reach to the floor, with a sweeping, fluttering effect. The black underlayer was a sweetheart, strapless top, with lacy designs embroidered onto it. The gauzy one was dark gray, split at the waist, so it would blow around your legs as you walk. It had a round neck that stretched to almost the edge of my shoulders. The dress was overwhelmingly gorgeous, and I knew that I would look gorgeous in it with my hair up. It was a dress specifically made to accent your neck and clavicle... And it would definitally do just that.

I couldn't wait to wear it!


	26. Chapter 26

Monday, April 22nd, 6:30 am.

I woke to the sound of a pissed off alarm clock. Or so it sounded, the way it kept buzzing at me.

I groaned and rolled over, slapping my hand against the cool black snooze button. The air immediately sucked the warmth from my arm, and I snatched it back beneath the covers. I curled my body around my freezing limb, cradling it and nursing it until it was back to the comfortable heat that shoves people into unconciousness.

I let myself glide over that cliff, feeling my mind blur... And just when I felt the fall coming, a shrieking noise jerked me awake again.

My alarm clock was taunting me, I could swear it. I fumbled to hit the off button and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I realized then that I'd left the window open to see the effects of the wind on my new dress. I had apparently neglected to shut the window. _Damn._

I pulled a blanket off the end of my bed and cacooned myself in it. My tank top and shorts weren't exactly the best pajamas I could have had on at the time.

I stiffly skipped over to my closet, grabbing a sports bra, my dress' slip, and the stockings that go on under it. My towel hung on the door to my closet, still wet from the previous day's shower. _How does that even happen..._ I think to myself, and grab a new one out of the hallway closet.

Stepping over to the bathroom, I saw my dad's door cracked, but not open. Meaning he was home, but not awake. The bathroom was, therefore, unoccupied. I shut the door and flicked on all three switches.

The two lights popped on, along with the fan, illuminating the nest of fuzz that circled my head. _Hm... Must've rolled around quite a bit last night... That's odd_.

I didn't pay much attention to that until I had to wash it. God, that was such a pain.

Breakfast was Eggo Toaster Waffles with blueberry and strawberry jam spread on them. I saw that in a magazine once, it tasted pretty epic.

Same morning routine as it has been for the last 11 years of my life. Teeth, hair, makeup, deoderant, get dressed... I packed my bag, one foot out the door, checking my phone. Every morning it's like reading the paper.

_7 new messages_

_Of course_... I sigh to myself. _Figures... Four of them from Majka, two from Tamaki, one from Boyfriend_(I'd started calling Mori that subconciously)_, and one from... _My footsteps paused, allowing and eerie hush to fall over the sidewalk, _One message from Kyoya...? Why on Earth..._

But when I opened the message, it was perfectly obvious that it wasn't anything personal, really. It was a short spiel about how I needed to attend an important host meeting this morning. I flipped my wrist, checking the time on my mostly hidden wrist watch. _Well, I guess that's not gonna happen today..._ The messages from Majka were all about what I was up to. What I ate, where I hung out, how school was going, how boyfriend is... etc, etc. Tamaki sent a two message long speech about hosting, just like Kyoya.

I'd saved Takashi's for last, knowing it was bound to determine today's mood.

_Hey, just wanted to say thanks. My family can be a pain, but you powered through like a champ, and managed to look the most beautiful I've ever seen you at the same time. I want to take you somewhere. We'll talk at school. 3_

I was right. Thanks to that message, this was going to be a great day!

By the time I reached the school, I was fairly calm again, though still fain to have a guy like mine by my side. The school was bustling with rich kids, chattering and whispering and laughing about who knows what new gossip. The crowd was thick, and I had to worm my way around plenty of people before I reached my classroom. Without concious thought, I smiled widely at Mori and Honey, who watched me enter the room like I lit up their mornings. Mori stood, taking my bag and offering me the seat he was sitting in. I grinned and sat, knowing that it's my assigned seat anyway, but I love that he acted gentlemanly over it.

A little waft of gloom caught my attention, and I noticed Kira sitting in the back corner of the room, flicking an origami frog around on his desk. He looked up, as if he sensed me, blushed, and went back to his little paper amphibian friend. _I wonder what that's all about... Whatever._

The day passed slowly, tauninting me with the host club. I wanted to be there so bad, amongst all the food. I wanted food. I wanted sweets. I skipped lunch that day because of the lack of chocolate. I needed sweets.

Finally, as if by God's own will, the bell rang. I slammed my seat back, more anxious to get out of eigth hour than anyone else. Suddenly, there was part of a desk under my foot, the leg of it. It hooked onto me and wouldn't let go. I watched the floor spin up toward me in slow motion, knowing full well that I was going to be uberly embarassed.

Before I could even have gotten halfway down though, I felt a grip on my arm, and the world spun around, flinging me back up into standing. I stopped, heart pounding from the three second long horror moment, and realized I was face-to-neck with Takashi. He bent, resting his lips on my head.

"Careful darling, you'll fall." I felt my stomach flutter, and placed my lips at the base of his throat, in the little indent there.

"I'll try." I responded quietly.

Then I noticed that basically the whole class had seen that. Just great.


	27. Chapter 27

The whole class had seen it. The whole. Entire. Freeking. Class room. Great.

Perfect.

My face flushed, as it always did when I didn't want it to, and I tried to back away from my boyfriend, but he wouldn't let me. "What?" He asked in a lower voice than usual, "Are you embarrassed?" My blush got even deeper.

The students around us started to whisper, some smiling, some raising eyebrows, and one girl looked scared. Horrified, even.

"Uh, well... To be completely honest, yes." I whispered this to him, hoping that everyone would leave. An awkward silence followed as Mori pulled me even closer to him, caressing my hair. Though I didn't think it possible, my face burned even hotter, wrapping around my ears.

Finally, after _much_ too long a silence, the scared girl, whom I realized was one of Mori's regular guests, quickly padded out of the room, her face down. I saw a tear fall from her face as she passed, also noticing the useless green headband she wore for show. _Oh,_ I thought,_ it's her..._

The class decided that they had had enough of our embarrassing love display, and everyone dissipated- leaving me and the boys alone. Once they were all gone, Honey stood awkwardly on, Mori still not letting go of me.

"Ahem," He said loudly, a small blush forming on one of his cheeks, "I'm gonna get to the Host Club a little early... I'll, uh, I'll see you guys there!" Smiling sweetly, he paraded down the hallway, prancing. Takashi still would not let go of my waist.

He lifted my head up to his with my chin, his face not even a whole 6 inches away from mine. My blush slackened, knowing we were alone now.

"Rebekah..." He drew my attention to his words, "What do you say we try to fix last night's fiasco, hm?"

My newly gone blush returned with a vengence as Mori leaned into me. I tilted my head, a shiver rolling down my spine, knowing what was coming.

_BAM!_

All I could think was, _Again!? SERIOUSLY!?_

The door to the room stood open, nearly as wide flung as my own eyes. I saw now that Takashi-kun's lips were merely nanometers away from mine. We sighed simultaneously. He finally let go of me, right when I decided I didn't want him to.

I turned to see Tamaki, of all people, standing in the doorway, huffing heavily.

"MORI-SENPAI!" The shout came out frantic, unlike his usual silky voice, "I FORBID THIS! NO ONE IS GOING TO TOUCH DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL UNTIL I ALLOW IT!" Confusion struck me.

"Uh, Tama-chan, I'm not your daughter..." I sighed, releasing my own grip on Mori's waist, unaware I'd made that grip at all, "Do you know that you have the most excellent timing in _ALL OF JAPAN?_" I stomped my foot, releasing all my sexual tension in that one moment. Apparently, that shut Suoh down really well.

"Oh, uh," He looked around, as if realizing what he'd just done, "I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."

"Oh, yes you did. Shut up, we'll be to the Host Club soon. Give us a minute." I gave him a glare until he left, closing the door behind him. When I heard it click, I turned back to my beloved with a sigh. My hand on my forehead, rubbing it, I felt him slide his arm around my waist again, bending down so I was enfolded inside him.

"Don't worry... It'll happen soon..." He promised me quietly. I nodded, and we set off for the club. As we turned the corner, down the hall from music room three, I saw Tamaki fuming, making stomping motions by Kyoya. I cleared my throat to make our presence known. Tamaki turned with a blush, one that got rapidly deeper as he realized who it was.

"Oh, Rebekah-senpai, Mori-senpai..." Tamaki fumbled for proper words, so he avoided the earlier awkwardness with "Uh, we got some... new cosplay outfits... American superheros, in honor of Rebekah-senpai..." He grinned sheepishly and led us into the room to show us.

I almost laughed. They were all going to look so rediculous! The outfits were lined up pretty well, though, for the looks and stuff. The twins were going to be Mas e Menos, spanish twins. Kyoya would be Batman, fitting, considering the wit of each. Tamaki had claimed AquaMan for himself. Honey would be dressed up as kid flash, and might I say, he looked adorable. I got a Black Canary outfit(no super heroes are women with brown hair, so they gave me the sexiest they could find, for the image). The last to change was Takashi, and they most definitally saved the best for last.

Takashi was covered from the nape of his neck to his toes in a tight black spandex suit. Yes, spandex. The chest had a bright blue bird on it, the blue stretched over the shoulders and arms as well. He held the mask in his hand, looking down to hide the slight pink shadowing his cheekbones. It was evident that he was Nightwing, one of my favorite heros.

I felt my eyes widen, and my breath left me as if something heavy were resting on my chest. He looked... Magnificant. Though I couldn't really keep my eyes on his face in that spandex... I shook my head, trying to clear the heat from my face.

He scratched his head, still shy. "Uh... Does it have to be spandex...?" Mori's voice rang out in the quiet as a mumble.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, Rebekah is the only one who isn't wearing spandex... And she has leather and fishnets!" Kyoya's devious words drew a glare from my luvvy, which drew a laugh from me, which drew a blush from Mori as he realized what just happened.

His abdomen was flat and smooth, interuppted only by the dips and tucks where his beautifully muscular abs shown through. I wanted to touch them; I felt my fingers twitching toward him and had to snatch my hand shut. My eyes roamed along the suit, unable to focus on his abs or face... If you know what I mean.

I looked up when he put his mask on, completing the effect of a bad ass, sexy superhero. My face felt hot.

And as he looked at me, in my sweetheart topped, leather bathing suit shaped body suit- with fishnet stockings covering my shapely legs- his face turned beet red.


	28. Chapter 28

***God... Guys... This is so long... This took me two hours one day, and like, three hours the next... Ugh... Well, I decided that since it's been SO LONG since I updated (meaning before ch.26) I decided that this should be like, 4,321 words. And it is. EXACTLY. So be happy. Cause that means I love you guys. K. Done now.***

***Oh, I lied. I'm not done yet. I'm only writing three more chapters of this... Not sure yet if that's going to include the sexy chapter or not. Whatevs. Now I'm just wasting space cause I want this to be EXACTLY 4,321 words... Sorry. This is probably fairly annoying. I apologize. D':***

While my boyfriend and I tried desparately to finish our blushing stare war, Tamaki spoke up. "Ahem, if you hadn't realized this, you two, the dance we're holding is going to be Friday night... I had to put it off because of some technical issues. Do you think you could make it?"

The thought of the dance snapped me back to the present. It was about two weeks overdue. I'd completely forgotten! "Oh, uh, Thursday? Sure, I can be there..." Mori nodded, still fuming in the face.

"Oh, well, great! I mean, you were going to have to come anyway, but I figured I'd give you the false mind frame..." Tamaki trailed on and on about the party, up until two fifty-nine, when he realized the guests would be knocking the doors down if he didn't open them. Everyone took up their positions, ready to say 'Welcome' in that seductive voice they all have developed. I sat with my legs tucked on my side, curving my body sexily, how I'd been taught. I heard a sharp intake and exhale of breath, and realized that Tamaki had placed Mori behind me and to my right, giving him an excellent view of me. I blushed, but flicked my hair around to hide it.

After the ritual was over, I talked girl problems with whoever needed me to. Most of the time, I was scheduled to meet with girls who wanted to know, "What's (insert host name)'s favorite dessert?", or "Does (insert host name) ever mention me...?" or "What's (insert host name)'s type? Do I fit it?" They all want to know about the boys. Some girls call on me for realistic reasons, but it's very rare. Mostly what to do if they break a nail or something of that sort. Lame.

I took a breather in the prep room around four fifteen, knowing I couldn't take much more of the stupid, giddy girls- though I only had another 45 minutes to go. The quiet of the cool room soothed me the moment I entered. I sighed deeply, sliding down the wall next to the window. I closed my eyes, taking in the smell of sweets(of which I'd already had plenty today) and the sound of a bird chirping just beyond the double-paned glass of the school windows.

I heard the door open and shut, along with some footsteps. I ignored it and stayed shut up in my mind. _Maybe they'll just go away..._

I realized how close the footsteps were getting. I noticed when they stopped. I subconciously knew I should open my eyes... And I was aware that the person who entered was near me. I just chose to ignore those things...

What I didn't know, though, was how damn close to my face Mori was. Up until he breathed deeply to get my attention.

My head snapped up, eyes open, giving me a small, but painful, bit of whiplash. I couldn't move much more than that though, without hitting Mori's face. My face tingled, the sensation I get just before I blush. His face was centimeters from mine, close enought that I could feel each of his breaths wash over me like a cloud. I relished in that for a moment, before I realized he was still in the spandex.

God, was that attractive...!

My head got fuzzy then, my emotions and thoughts all blurring into one big pile of... _Lips_. I thought. _I want his lips... _(I also thought about something else, but I don't think it's exactly rated G, so...)

I realized when I thought that, that he was using the 90% rule. Guys go 90% of the way to the girl, and wait for her to return the other 10% for a kiss. Holy crap, if it meant I could kiss him, I'd be going 100% of the way!

Knowing now what was happening, I leaned, tilting my head to the right. Just before our lips touched, we both whipped our heads around, looking toward the door. The Karma King seemed to have a problem with kissing lately.

Nothing. I smiled.

Turning back to the matter at hand, I slid my hand around his neck, pulling him in close to me again, allowing my parted lips to rest on his just enough that he could feel them. It was like taunting him at my own expense. We moved in sincronization, our lips moving, our heads tilting, lifting our chins to hit that perfect angle. I gripped his hair, not wanting this moment to end.

His toungue flicked at my lip, tracing it out, like an artist trying to capture something on paper. It was tantalizing, that bit, and a small moan escaped me. We sat there, huddled up by the window, for a full five minutes. It was a perfect kiss, one that was continuous and relentless. I didn't want it to end.

Finally, as if he'd been holding back, he let his mouth wander down my jaw line, following the curve of my neck down to my shoulder. I breathed heavily when he hit a sensitive spot. I caressed his back, knowing by the small sounds he made that he loved it.

We both knew we couldn't be gone for so long, so we calmed ourselves and went back to hosting. I looked over at him every once in a while, and smiled when I saw him staring back.

So there it was, I'd finally kissed him.

The next two days passed quickly by, now that the majority of our sexual tension was out of the way. By Wednesday, the day of the big business dinner, we'e decided not to tell anyone about the prep room earlier. It may upset Tamaki and therefore upset the guests as well; But when we weren't at the club, we didn't make it a secret how close we were. After all, that was going to come up eventually... Right?

Mori walked me out, then we took his car over to my house. He'd been doing that a lot since the disasterously fun date at his house. I dreaded leaving that car every time we pulled in my driveway, but today I could stand it, knowing I'd see him at the business dinner later that night.

I wrapped my bag around my hand, getting a good grip on it, and kissed Takashi-kun on the cheek. I looked him in the eye and said, "Now when I go up to the house, do not look at my butt. I'm a good girl." It was a quote from one of my favorite American movies. So I headed up the driveway with my back end stuck out just a bit, and looked back after a few seconds. Sure enough he was looking. I smiled and stuck out my tongue at him.

I waved at the car before I shut the door, setting my bag on the stairs. I started to walk away to put the dog outside, but my phone vibrated loudly against the books in my shoulder bag. I fumbled in my footing, trying to back peddal to grab it. The screen was lit up, displaying:

_One New Message,_

_Takashi-kun_

_Read Now/Read Later_

I opened the message and laughed. It stated simply, _Nice view._

With Dakota hooked up to the chain out back, and my bag put away, I threw on some sleep pants and a t-shirt to get ready for the dinner. It was about 5:30, and I had to do hair, makeup, AND get dressed. _I don't know if I'm gonna make it, dinner is at 7... That gives me an hour... Well, gonna have to rush._

The bathroom counter was a mess full of makeup prouducts and hair things. My foundation was the lightest I could find in Japan, making my face look slightly tanner than usual. I snatched my neutral tones and did my eyeshadow in light browns, so as not to distract from the dress or my face. Liquid liner on the tops of my lids, as thin as I can manage. Black pencil for the waterline. A thick frame of black mascara covered lashes. Chapstick, then I'll put lip gloss on over it. Best to keep the makeup simple since my dress will be so elaborate.

I'd taken 15 minutes.

My hair was dreadful. I had to straighten it all out, which took about 10 minutes. Then, I had to pin it up into a tight bun with only a few loose strands(put there on purpose), which was hard, considering how thick it is. Then came the curling iron. I flipped it on and had the loose strands curled perfectly in two minutes flat. I grabbed the curler and straightener, alternating which I used according to how my bangs looked. Eventually, I got them perfect. I smiled at my reflection. 37 minutes, flat. I had 23 to get dressed and make a bag.

Grabbing a strapless bra and a sausage sucker out of my drawer(a sort of corset thing I wore that was made out of fabric), I threw them on, clipped the straps and crotch(designed like a onesie, easy to pee in) of the corset, and pulled some tights on over it. Next came the knee-length slip over that. It was sinched around my rib cage, so it wouldn't show through the dress. After that, everything was a sinch. I made up my bag with my phone, camera, miniature sketchpad, pencils, lip gloss, small makeup touch up kit, wisp toothbrush, and an address book. Pulling them out of my closet, I set my black heels on the floor, so that I could step right into them on my way downstairs.

The dress came last. I took a deep breath, unzipping the gown cover to reveal the piece of art. I stared for a moment before I realized I had 5 more minutes until my dad would come out of his room, start the car, and bring in the dog so we could leave. I carefuly inserted my arms through the bottem of the dress, my head to follow, so as not to rough my hair any. I zipped up the back, holding my breath, and slid my feet into the shoes. Heading down the hallway to the bathroom mirror, I nearly took my own breath away.

I looked...

"Amazing." The man standing next to me in the black business suit was stunningly handsome, even in the nonchalant pose, leaning against the doorway. I was slightly taller than him in the heels.

"Oh, thanks daddy." I smiled and looked back to the girl in the mirror. "It's beautiful... I love it." We walked downstairs to the car after I grabbed my bag, and he told me about who I needed to talk to tonight.

"The Haninozukas and Morinozukas, obviously. The Otoris would like to meet you, apparently their son has taken a liking to you. There's also Mister Suoh, he'd like to see how you're doing settling down. You've also been mentioned in a few other houses... The Hitachiins, the Shibisakis... All very big names, Rebekah. I'm glad you've made such a good impression on them." I smiled at him and we spoke about ettiquette and manners all the way there. I was ready for this.

Right?

Once dad parked, another car pulled up next to ours. I disregarded it until someone opened my door. "He- oh, Takashi-kun... You look..." I looked up at the lovely boy before me as he held my door open for me. His face was pink and his eyes wide, though his stature stayed solid. Slightly bowed, one hand behind his back, the other offering to help me out of the car.

I regained my composure and let one foot fall to the pavement. I collected myself before taking the hand lightly, so that Mori pulled me the rest of the way out of the car, then he slid that hand through my elbow, so that we were linked there. Thankfully, the ground was dry, so I didn't have to lift my dress walking in. The dark gave way to light as we neared the entrance of an enourmous and elaborate galla. The sound of people talking and drinks clinking in hand began at a soft whisper, and grew in volume until we were suddenly enveloped in it.

The gowns here were almost all black or gray, speckled with the occaisional pink, green or blue, worn by the daughters. The men wore basically the same thing, suits. Some wore dress vests, like a tuxedo without the jacket. Everyone was showing their best face. I wasn't exactly sure where to start...

However, I should've known that Tamaki would find me before I could think of finding him.

The boy nearly tackled me as he realized who I was, but stopped short when I turned and smiled at him. He swallowed a little bit, and blinked a couple times. My smile dissolved. "Wh... What's wrong, Tama-chan?" Then I realized. "What? Never seen a girl in a pretty dress before?" I chuckled.

"No, that's not it at all," he said in his prince voice, "I've just never seen such a pretty girl in a dress before." He twisted my words with ease and bowed respectfully.

"He's definitally my son, though I'm sure you figured that out quite a while ago..." Mr. Suoh stood straight and tall behind his son, who whipped around, shocked. "Welcome, Rebekah, Takashi. Ah, Mister Dybowski, you have a beautiful daughter. Oh, and the Haninozukas were asking for you. They're seated somewhere around the dance floor if you'd like to see to them..." He talked to my father for a momet. I watched Tamaki try to compose himself after the sudden attack. He was suited up in a flattering white dress suit, a gold vest underneath it. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting like that Rebekah. Your father is a very well known man, though!" Suoh-sama grabbed my attention again with his apology.

"So, how do you like Ouran Academy so far, darling? I'm sure these rascals have been treating you well?" He grinned, but I saw that his clamp on Tamaki's arm was a bit to tight to be loving.

"Oh, it's simply wonderful! Everyone here is so kind, and very understanding. Your son is one of the best. He was one of the first two teenagers I'd met here, and he left me with a very good impression. You have a wonderful son, Mr. Suoh!" I said, slapping a sweet smile on my face. It worked, I saw his grip slacken, and he patted his fair-haired son on the back.

"Well... That's, shocking, but very nice to hear. I'm glad you feel that way." He smiled genuinely at me, and then looked past me, as if he saw someone waving. "Oh, I'm sorry dear, I'll have to be going, a very good friend of mine has just arrived!" He shook Takashi's hand, and kissed mine, before speeding off merrily.

I turned to Tamaki with mock shock on my face, "And he's _your_ father!?" Tamaki smiled and blew a raspberry at me before he led Takashi and I toward the other host club members.

Hikaru and Kaoru bombarded me with questions about my dress and makeup, where I'd gotten what, what I used to accessorize, and seemed completely and utterly shocked when I told them that none of it was designer or name brand.

"You mean-"

"You just grabbed a dress-"

"That's this pretty-"

"And just grabbed some shoes and a purse-"

"And it looks _this good_!?" The twins alternated sentence fragments, jumping to unison for the last bit.

I laughed along with them until Honey wandered over to us. He had a girl's hand in his, and she looked a bit dizzy. I'd seen her before... Ah! At the waterpark. She looked like she was having a lot of fun, especially for wearing that kind of dinner dress. It was short, black, and tight. A dinner dress, but more casual than formal.

"Rebekah-chan, you look so pretty!" Honey's eyes got really wide, then he smiled and nudged Takashi's side, "You're quite the lucky guy, aren't you Takashi?" He giggled.

"Yeah." Mori unlinked his arm from mine, slipping it around my waist.

The hours passed quickly, and two had gone by before I realized that I hadn't talked to Kyoya or his family yet. I turned my head to Mori, pointing out this fact, and he led me over to the table. On our way, Mori's family called him over to talk to someone. He planted a kiss on my forehead, leaving me for the family duty.

I strode the rest of the way over to the Otori table by myself, touching shoulders lightly and greeting everyone and anyone who looked familiar as I passed them. Kyoya stood as I approached, announcing to his parents and two older brothers, "Ah, here she is... Father, this is Dybowski-sama. She's next in line for her family's business and has proved her right to it plenty of times over." I bowed to them respectfully, greeting them with a smile while Kyoya continued.

"She was first in her class back in America, and has outstanding grades over here as well. We spoke with her father earlier, if you remember?" Kyoya's father looked like a cold, calculating man. He stood and shook my hand, surveying my face like an undesirable magazine. His brothers did the same, but were sweet in greeting me. They smiled with courtesy, but out of the corner of my eyes, I saw them look me up and down. _Men..._ I thought,_ Always thinking about sex, or potential suitors. If they're going to look at me, at least wait till I'm walking away..._

I sat with them for a while, just discussing statistics and funds about the company, being completely and wholly honest about everything. The more honest I was, the better. I knew that the Otoris were a business-like family, I should earn their trust.

Unaware of how much time had passed, Takashi took a seat next to me, smiling and shaking hands, but not participating in the conversation unless he was spoken to. Finally, my own father wandered over to the table, and was somewhat shocked to find me there.

"Oh! Rebekah, there you are! I thought for sure you'd be over by your friends and the other girls!" He smiled at me.

"Well, the most popular topic with them is boys, and I don't really have to worry about that at the moment!" I laughed lightly, squeezing my boyfriend's hand slightly. Thankfully, the Otoris also laughed a bit.

"I was just looking for you because we have about an hour left here. They're opening up the dance floor for dancing now, if you're interested. It's nice that they have actual dances now... These dinners can often be so stiff!"

I turned to my boyfriend. With my eyes, I begged the question- _should we go_? He answered with his eyebrows- _do you want to_? I smiled and nodded.

When they began the music maybe five minutes later, we all migrated toward the darkening dance floor. The mood was considerably calmer, more loose. I felt my face soften, seeing so many people whose marriages were arranged so happy to be together. As we walked, Mori grasping my hand sweetly, I noticed a large group of girls surrounding Tamaki. He didn't seem to know who to choose.

The twins looked into a female set of twins' identical eyes, leaning to kiss their hands at the same time.

Kyoya bowed to a girl, offering his hand to her when he stood. Her face was bright red, but she seemed overjoyed.

Honey was dragging a giggling girl out there already, not waiting for any sort of offer.

The hosts were having a good time... I wondered if this is what the party was going to be like.

I stopped suddenly. Mori wasn't holding my hand anymore. I looked back, "What's wrong?"

He tilted his head toward me, smiling. I was confused. "What!?"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box. He knelt, his head only reaching my waist. My face flared, desparately trying to spontaneously combust or something.

"Wh... What are yo- you... Uh," I stuttered incomprehensibly.

He took my hand, kissing that bit where my fingers met my hand. He released my hand and opened the box. I stared at it.

It sparkled beautifully in the dim light of a romantic dance floor. There was a thin, delicate looking strand of silver. It was weighted down where a delicately carved heart sat. It was skewed, tilted so that it sat unevenly on it's chain. Where the point of the heart would be, it was unusual. The bottom of the heart curved slightly, pointing away from the point. The other end of it stopped short, before it connected with the other half. There were three square gems on it, dark blue in color, shining like diamonds. I later found out that that's exactly what they were.

"Oh..." I sighed, my eyes dampening, "Oh... Oh, oh Takashi..." My hand covered my mouth so I didn't say anything stupid.

"Rebekah..." He looked directly into my eyes, "Will you..." My eyes widened, not knowing quite how I was going to react to this myself, "Will you dance with me tonight?"

I nearly laughed out loud. A small giggle escaped me, and all I could manage was, "Oh, of course... It's so beautiful..." He stood, and I turned around, my head down. I felt the necklace slide around my chest, the cool metal making my hot skin tingle. He clasped it in back, caressing my neck for a moment. He stooped, kissing my neck where the two ends of chain met, and grasped my arms. He whispered delicately in my ear, "Come on, let's dance."

He led me by the hand to the semi-crowded dance floor, resting his hand on the small of my back. For the first song, we were cautious about dancing properly- everyone was. After that though, the mood seemed to consume everyone, and there were heads on shoulders, arms around necks, and hands wrapped around waists. It was perfect.

Sadly, it only lasted for another 45 minutes. To some, that would seem like a lot- but to me... Well... It was like a few moments of pure pleasure, and I didn't want it to end.

At one point, a song played that both Mori and I knew. I looked up at him and whispered the lyrics of _Itsumo Soba Ni_ to him as it played. I continued the silent seranade as he leaned toward me, and even as his lips met mine, I thought them. It was a deep kiss, a passionate one that lasted for a century in my mind. We stopped dancing, just relishing in each others embrace, feeling hands apply pressure, brushing hair, caressing faces.

The song continued, and we resumed our dance, every once in a while speaking the meaningful words to each other under our breath.

When it was done, there was a small outbreak of applause from beside us somewhere. My face heated, whipping around to find the source. Of course, Hikaru, Kaoru, Mitskuni and Tamaki were all standing by, clapping at our lack of shyness, Kyoya looking on, smiling.

Somehow, this encouraged Takashi, who dropped me into a dip that left me defensless against his attack. Breathless, he kissed me again, then lifted me up. The clapping was joined by whistling. I laughed with the rest of the teenagers and friends that surrounded us then, thinking that that's where I wanted to be for the rest of my life; dancing with my love, not shy about how we feel.

Finally, it did end. Takashi walked me out to the drive, waiting for my father to pull up the car. He kissed my nose, just on the tip, and rubbed my semi-bare shoulder with his thumb. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he let me climb into the car.

I smiled that night all the way until I fell asleep.

***WHOO! I DID IT! IT WAS REALLY FUN TO WRITE! I got the idea for the necklace online, but for some odd reason, this silly site won't let me actually post the links... That stinks... If you have youtube, look up Itsumo Soba Ni and the translation... It's so ****fantabulous. :') Lol I hope you guys love it! :)***


	29. SKIP THIS CHAPTER THERE'S NOTHING HERE

I NEED THIS SPACE SO I CAN FIX THE STORY. SORRY. THIS IS CONFUSING FOR YOU ALL. I APOLOGIZE. FANFICTION IS BEING MEAN TO ME AND I NEED TO FIX IT... WAAAH.


	30. Chapter 29

_**~Okay... Something is wrong with my computer... O_o I don't know how but I accidentally posted 28 as 29... SORRY! I was wondering why I didn't get any reviews of people yelling at me... SORRY I STILL LOVE YOU I FIXED IT SEE!? :'D~**_

**~Hey guys, sorry this one took a while. I had a lot to cram in and I was having some issues with my depression... I have to see if I can get some meds or something... Blah. Well anyways, Here ya go! I love you all! Oh, and review if you want some... SPECIAL things... To happen next chapter... ;)~**

I was in such a daze for the next two days, I could barely remember anything until host club Friday. What I do remember is that I spent a lot of those two days fondling the bright necklace dangling from my neck, sneaking peeks at my luvvy through the corners of my eyes, and thinking about how I was going to react at that dance.

I wasn't really sure why I was even going. No boys come to the host club, it's just girls. So why then should I be required to go? I'm just going to get jealous and overreact. It's stupid.

But some part of me says that I'd rather see who was dancing with him than not know.

I closed my eyes and sighed, sitting at my table Friday afternoon. My work was spread before me, untouched. We got to skip the host club today, since the dance was later tonight... I was itching for my dad to get home... We were going for a new dress. I wasn't sure what kind of dress could possibly surpass the beauty of the one I'd worn only two nights earlier.

As this thought prossessed, I sighed, setting my head on my crossed arms. Without looking, I moved to slide my papers together in a big pile, then shove them back in my leather bag. My arms hung heavily while I imagined lavish gowns that would never compare to my own. I lifted my head and left arm, plopping my chin on my palm, and thought hard about how to make this work well. _Maybe if I get a simpler dress... _I thought to myself,_ then I can really play up my makeup and hair._

My dad walked into the house, but was almost immediately dragged back out by the arm. I was overly excited and couldn't wait to get going. I was out the door, in the car, buckled, and had it started before my dad was even off the sidewalk.

"COME ON DAD! WE HAVE TO FIND A DRESS!" I wasn't yelling at him out of anger, but excitement.

An hour later, we stood in the dressing room, me behind a stall, my dad lounging on a plush couch in the waiting area. I had on the last dress I'd picked up. It had been more of a joke. Every other dress I'd picked up was elaborate and gorgeous... This one... Well, this one was quite simple. I sighed deeply, slipping it over my head anyway. I looked up, stunned by what I saw.

It was beautiful in such a simple, elegant way. I slowly stepped out of the stall, still shocked, and pulled up the hem so that I didn't trip. I looked up at my father, wondering if he thought the same thing about it.

"Oh... Rebekah..." His face was hard to read. "That's the one." I nodded in bewilderment, knowing I was about to be the Belle of the Ball in such a simple garment. I glanced back up at my dad, smiling.

"Yeah. This is the one."

~blubububububububTIMEFASTFORW ARDblubububububububub~

I waved at my dad as he drove away from the school, having just dropped me off with my duffle. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, we had two and a half hours to get ready for the big party. I was giddy with excitement. I skipped over to the south building of the school, up the north hallway, and straight to the third music room in my jeans, white tank, and grey Stanford sweater. My hair was tied up in a tucked ponytail, and I'd neglected doing any makeup, seeing as I'll have to do it again...

I could hear J-pop blasting behind the large door, and smiled as I swung the large block of wood so I could enter. The boys sat in a circle, stuffing their faces with Ramen. "Oh, Bekah-chan!" Tamaki sputtered when he saw me. "We saved you some, if you want it!" He pointed to the un-opened styrofoam cylander of noodles. I smiled and waved him off, having already eaten when we stopped at home.

I popped down on the couch between Honey and Mori, enjoying the overwhelming scent of masculinity radiating from my boyfriend. _He must've just gotten back from kendo..._ I thought. It wasn't a sweaty smell, but more of a musky, warm smell. I loved it.

When the boys were done eating, it was time to decorate. We all packed up our things and headed down the hall to the South building's largest hall. The main thing we had to do to "decorate" was to set aside a place for food and drinks, and line the walls in streamers. Turns out we had people already doing it. It was only 5 o'clock, and we had nearly nothing to do. So since I took the most time to get ready, I headed back to the prep room alone to start on my hair.

The duffle was heavy on my arm, and my footsteps were loud in the emptiness of the room. I set up the head sized mirror I had on a side table near an outlet, plugging in my hot rollers(they work SO much better than an iron) and straightener to heat up. I tried to focus on the difficult task I had going for me right then, but the room was just too quiet. After a minute or so, I snapped, finding another outlet for my iPod speakers. Sighing deeply and contentedly, I flipped to John Rzeznik's song 'I'm Still Here', one of my favorites. Rolling my hair and sometimes straightening it, I jammed in my head- neglecting to check the time as I went. Before 10 minutes had passed, I was nearly done. The doors behind me burst open halfway through Rob Thomas' 'These Small Hours'.

I turned over my mostly bare shoulder, having taken off my sweater to reveal a white tank top. "Oh, hey guys! Done decorating already?" I turned back to the mirror, still listening. I released the second set of rollers I'd placed in my hair while Honey excitedly explained every detail of the 10 minute long adventure. By the time he was done, I was going at my locks with my straightener and hair brush, trying to achieve a sleek look. Another 5 minutes, and... Mission accomplished! The twins had broken out a game of twister to play, since we had so much time left. I turned to watch for a moment, laughing along with them when Tamaki collapsed on Honey and the twins.

Mori sat by Kyoya with a book in his hand. Kyoya spun the dial, Takashi pretended to read. I could see his eyes watching me from their corners. Not as ninja as he thought. I flipped my iPod(currently playing a ColdPlay song) over to my party mix. The first song to play was the _Macarena_. Even the boys knew that one.

Some time later, I zipped up my makeup back, convinced I was dome. The grandfather style clock outside of the school rang out 6 times, making me jump slightly. I didn't realize I'd already taken a half hour. We had another hour before officially starting the party. I packed all my things away in the duffle, grabbing my dress and undergarment bag from underneath them before sliding it off to the wall. I left it in a nice pile for later before standing and turning to the boys.

They were all quiet. "Uh... What? Oh, and don't say anything cliche about how I look... It's going to be unbearable." My face heated at the silence. Finally I broke it. "Er... Right hand blue?" I smiled as the rest of them broke into laughter.

Sitting down by the two black haired boys, I leaned on my boyfriend's arm and watched the obnoxious ones play on.

After a moment, Mori switched his book into his left hand, and wrapped my shoulders in his right arm. I let myself shift over a bit more to breathe in his scent again. His head drooped to mine for a moment, and his lips whispered to me, "You are beautiful though." I smiled, letting my eyes close, and whispered back to him,

"You just wait till I have the dress on."

~blububububububububTRANSPORTI NGblububububububububub~

6:50 pm.

I stand in the dressing room, unable to force myself out to see everyone's reactions. I hear a sigh, followed by Tamaki groaning, "Aren't you done yet?" I heard a smacking sound, a small chuckle, and a melodramatic whimper from Tamaki. Amongst the commotion to follow between them, I slid the curtain aside to reveal the dress.

The twins smiled approvingly, noticing how I'd played up my face and hair while still keeping the dress simple. They gave a double thumbs up and flashed identical grins. Honey squeezed his bunny, Usa-chan, his eyes the size of cakes. I smiled sheepishly at him, and realized that the bickering between the first year beauties had stopped. Tamaki was blushing a bit, and Kyoya was smiling, his eyes hidden by a glare off his glasses. I looked down. "It's really not much, guys... Is it really that great?" I asked them jokingly.

The dress really was very simple. It was a deep v-neck, but had a cover, so as not to show off too much cleavage. The material bunched at a seam just below my breasts, s thick strip of fabric acted as a sort of belt from that seam to the bottom of my rib cage. It was a deep wine color. Other than that, it just hung. No layers, no accents, no patterns- just the dress.

A hand slid under my hair and behind my neck, sending a chill through out my spine. My eyes fluttered with the feeling, I loved it. Warmth enveloped my forehead as Takashi leaned down to whisper to me. It was one simple word, laced deeply with meaning and love, and it made me shiver again; "Yes."

I grinned. Suddenly, something popped in the corner of my vision, just barely reaching my eyes through the veil of loose curls that covered my face. A flash, more like... It hit me. I turned to see who had snapped the picture, only to see the twins snapping loads of them with my camera.

I huffed to myself and then remembered, "Oh my goodness! I haven't updated my vlog in _weeks_!" I rushed to the boys, snatching my camera, and rummaged in my duffle to see if I had my video camera. _Oh, thank God! How lucky am I!_

I flipped it so that I could look into the camera, but turned the flip-open screen to face me. With the press of a few buttons, and a quick wave at the boys to hush them momentarily, I started to record a quick video.

"Hello family!" I switched to English, "So, here I am, getting ready for a party! I know, I know, I've been here a month and I'm already this popular. Well, as much as I am, that's not what this is for. I have actually joined a host club since I've been here, and they're throwing a party. Goodness, guys this is probably the greatest thing I've done in Japan yet! It's great, and I love these guys! Oh yeah, I'm the only girl there. But everyone's like a brother here, except one of them, so it's all good."

I saw a flash of orange in the screen feed, alerting me to a twin peering over my shoulder. I sighed. _I might as well introduce them all..._

"I guess since they'll all be snooping anyways, I may as well show you who's who!" I turned the camera on Hikaru, who backed up nervously, then waved. "This is Hikaru Hitachiin. His twin Kaoru," I spun the camera to his counterpart, "Is right over there. He's talking to Tamaki and Kyoya." A fluff of blonde bounced up into my field of vision. "This," I looked down to Honey, "Is Mitskuni Haninozuka. He's in my grade, we call him Honey." He giggled and spoke to the camera about Usa-chan in flawless English.

After a bit, I focused on Kyoya and Tamaki. "This is Tamaki Suoh, first year drama queen extrordinaire. Say 'hi' Tamaki!"

As expected, he got all emotional. "Oh, how lovely to be introduced to Dybowski-sama's family!" His english had a slight french twang to it, which was odd considering his japanese was flawless. "You have a wonderful relative in Miss Rebekah." He bowed, and I took the opportunity to view Kyoya.

"This is Kyoya Otori, he's a genius, and a criminal mastermind. But we all know he's sweet deep down." I smiled behind the camera, watching through one eye as he smiled slyly, waving casually at the camera. I giggled and turned the camera back to myself, "And last, but not at all least, there's-"

The camera was yanked from my hands by the twins, who turned it back on me micheviously. A pair of arms encircled me. I heard the twins narrarate in perfect unison, in english, "Her boyfriend, Takashi Morinozuka, commonly called Mori. They're very close." They snickered.

Takashi leaned down and kissed me softly, his lips cool against my heated ones. The blush was all over my face, but it dissintegrated as he parted from me. I put on a pouty face. "Well. That wasn't very nice, guys. I knew you were the 'little devil' types, but I didn't take you for the plotters..."

I laughed along with them all, putting my camera back in my bag. _That'll be a good one_, I thought. I stood carefully and surveyed the boys around me, all of them waiting for me before going to the dance hall. One by one, their faces smiled at me, showing that this is where I really belonged. The same smile formed on my own face, but before long stretched into a grin. After a quick glance at Kaoru, Hikaru handed me a slip of paper. It had information about a hotel we would be going to tonight, and the address said Tokyo. There was a movie playing, and an arcade nearby. It was a celebratory sleepover in Tokyo, to commemorate our first host club event. They wanted me to come with. "Oh... Guys..."

The feeling welled up inside me... Here came my sappy speech.

"I just... I just want you to know... This, this whole club, all of you, this whole thing... It means the world to me... And this, the celebration, I can't wait. But, I have to tell you something. There's... There's a trip I'm going to be taking at the end of this year. I'll leave school a week or two early, and I probably won't be back until the Ouran Fair next year... Maybe a bit later." I watched their faces carefully for the signs of shock, hurt, anything. I saw Mori's eyes shift, and knew he thought just as much as I did that that would be MUCH too long apart.

"But, but... I _will_ be back. That's the important thing. And, when I am back, I will never leave again." I faltered, struggling to find the right words, "I... I belong with you all. Here. The host club is my family now, and I don't know how I'm going to be able to stand being away for so long, but I will." I paused to keep the tears out of my eyes. "Uh... God... I love you guys..." Blinking rapidly, I only saw blurred shapes surround me for a group hug, but no one in particular.

It was a long, hard, emotional hug, and I didn't want it to end. Sadly, everything does. But hey, eventually, it comes again- right? I smile to myself again. _All good things come again... Even if you leave them once._

The last person left hugging me was my boyfriend. The embrace was tight and hard, full of unsaid things that neither of us dared to say. His left arm squeezed my middle, his right hooked around my neck, pulling my head into his chest. I clung to his back like I was drowning. The others looked away. Finally, he said what I needed to hear.

"I wish you didn't have to go, but I understand the family trade situation. But until you go, let's enjoy what time we have. Until you are gone, I will love you with all my might. Even when you aren't here, I'll dream of you every night. And when you're finally back," He dropped to a whisper, sliding a simple silver ring on my finger gently, "I'll marry you."

**~I know guys, that ending... But hey... There's another chapter coming! OH AND WARNING- THERE WILL BE LEMON. I didn't wanna rate the thing M, so I'm warning you here. I hope you all fangirl as hard as I did when I was imagining and writing this up, I love it. Thank you sooo much for reading and reviewing, I love you all so much! Keep track of me for my Jack Frost fanfic to follow! ;)~**


	31. Chapter 30--- WARNING EXTREME LEMON

_**~Okay guys, I'm so so so sorry for the lame ending in that last chapter, but I'm just so tired of writing this sometimes... SO. Since I've been planning out this chapter since I don't even know when(probably since the karuizawa shirtless episode from the anime, haha). Anyways, I'm gonna try reeeally hard to make this chapter really good, especially compared to the last one! So here I go! ;)~**_

The group of seven paraded down the hall, sweaty and happy to be alive and having fun. They'd just finished cleaning up after the party they'd hosted- which really just meant telling other people what to clean. Each went into a separate stall, covered by a curtain, and stripped, desparately needing fresh clothes to wear. They all laughed, tripping each other and messing around on their way out of the school.

Their excitement wasn't due to the party being SUPER successful, though; It was caused by the adrenaline of knowing they were about to spend a night out in Tokyo, just the seven of them.

Reaching the front of the south building, a butler opened the back door of a limo, allowing each of them, all six boys and a girl, to sit comfortably there. There would be one stop before they got on the jet, and that was Rebekah's house. The boys knew she was unprepared, so they made a quick stop at her house, and then they were off. The jet was Kyoya's family's, and would take them to a private airport just outside of Tokyo, where they would take another limousine into town. The whole ride was giggles, jokes, talking, and snuggling(by Mori and Rebekah, of course).

For a lot of the ride, they discussed Mori's proposal to his girlfriend. He explained how he'd already talked to her dad about the celebration trip they were having, and had promised to protect her. While he was there her father explained how she'd be gone for a bit, off to Poland and Greece and such. By the time she got back, they'd be old enough to marry, and he'd asked that night for her hand. It was a spur of the moment thing, but he meant it. Rebekah was impressed by him and nuzzled his neck a bit while everyone threw out their opinions.

Kyoya nodded with a slight smile, "Whatever makes you two happy."

The twins thought they were being rediculous, "You are so stupid! That was such a lame way to do it!"

However, Tamaki and Honey had to disagree, "It was so romantic! Adorable! I was nearly in tears!" (Even though he said that, Tamaki WAS in tears... He's such a liar.)

By the time they reached the jet, all were tired of the subject save for Honey, Takashi and Bekah- but they dropped it. At nearly 10:00, they all piled onto the luxurious aircraft, dropping into plush seats and comfortable couches with their bags. It would only be a 20 minute flight, but it felt like an eternity.

Finally, the plane touched down. It was about 10:25, and the teenagers were cruising through the brightly lit town that was Tokyo. Rebekah and Honey stare in awe out the windows at the gorgeous town, not minding the chortles from the others. Rebekah had never seen such a display of lights, and she was determined to enjoy it.

Her wonder didn't end when the car stopped, but only began as she strut through the doors to the arcade, pulling Mori behind her. Lights flashed in an obnoxious array of colors- overloading her senses and pushing adrenaline through her veins. Suddenly, they all went wild. Everyone but Kyoya rushed to a game, really to whatever wasn't occupied by some other frantic teenager determined to win.

The night went quickly, shifting suddenly from 10:30 to 1:00 in the morning. The twins sat determinedly at a blaster game- each controlling one joystick- using all their willpower to stay awake. Kyoya sat in a corner on a bench reading, Honey slumbering peacefully next to him. Tamaki sat dozing on the floor next to them. "Aren't they done... Yet?" He squeezed out the words around a yawn.

"Sadly, no, Rebekah-senpai is still going; And of course, that means Mori-senpai is, too." Tamaki groaned as the pair passed him, the girl jumpy and her fiance stoic. She knew exactly where she was headed.

Mori followed quietly, happy to be with her, but desperately wondering how long she'd be pumped for. He wanted to get to the hotel and just... Cuddle. He smacked himself inwardly, thinking how stupid it sounded- but one look back at the girl he loved and he no longer cared what sounded stupid or smart. He just wanted it.

He smiled when she reached the game. He'd probably have to go easy on her. But from the look on her face, she was pretty confident. Maybe he wouldn't have to let up too much, after all.

Rebekah looked back at Takashi and smirked. She thought she'd probably have to tone it down for him, after all, she always gets nearly every step perfect.

The two step onto the raised platform with the bar on the back, four arrows flashing idle under their feet. The sign read, in both English and Japanese, 'DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION: EXTREME!' The songs however, were all J-Pop. _No matter_, Rebekah thought.

The two were both ready to go now. Rebekah shifted back and forth, hips waving, choosing songs to dance to. Mori bounced on his feet, trying his hardest not to focus on said hips.

There were three songs, set from least intense to most intense(though none of them were easy), and each would play straight after the other.

They smiled at each other competitively as the first began. Each started bopping to the beat, Mori on the balls of his feet, Bekah moving her hips. The song began with each trying to tone it down a bit for the other. Then, simultaneously, the other realized how much of a struggle this would really be. Their feet flew into over-drive, the perfects zipping away on the screen as fast as they appeared. It looked like a tie game until the split.

The move was one foot in front, one foot behind. They turned to face each other, and in that moment, the girl gained the upper hand. Mori saw(with his martial arts trained eye) a bead of sweat roll down his fiances chest and into her shirt. He blushed, and stumbled on his way back into the moves, giving Rebekah a one point lead. Somehow, she managed to maintain that the rest of the song, winning.

She jumped a bit, giddy with the win, and looked at the small crowd that had gathered. Some of them were clapping at the epic performance. She smiled, but didn't have time for anything else, the next song was starting. It was a little faster than the last, just as she'd set it up. However, just like the last song, the pair were both busting out perfect scores. The crowd that had gathered was really getting into it, cheering on either one or the other, pumping fists and cheering at hard steps.

This time the fumble came from Rebekah, who glanced at Mori long enough to see the sheen of sweat covering his face. Rebekah's heart pounded, and she noticed how attractive it made him look. She knew her feet were moving, but only realized two steps later that she was a step ahead of the game. Shaking her head visciously, she tried to get it back, but Takashi was relentless, not letting her gain any advantages. By now the crowd was really into it. They cheered and pumped and sang along to the song- craning necks to see the competitive couple.

They stood sweating as the next song started. Each got the tempo down, determined with all their beings to win. They now massive crowd cheered them on, egging for victory. The steps began, fast paced and crazy intense. They lost themselves in the dance, determined to win. The perfects shot out, a neck and neck race, each knowing the other wasn't willing to relent- but Mori had a plan.

He knew the steps were coming, he just had to wait for it. When they did, he was ready. There it was, the move signalling to put one foot forward and one back. As they turned toward each other, he scooped Rebekah up by the waist, planting his feet firmly down, followed closely by his mouth. It was almost a lustful kiss, they way they clung to each other greedily. Caught by surprise, the girl swooned, giving in to her dreamy fiance. What she didn't realize was that Mori's feet were planted firmly on the right and left arrows. Therefore, when the game said to hit the right or left arrow, it registered as a hit.

For the last 10 seconds of the song, they stood there, locked in an embrace, the crowd that had gathered cheering wildly. Suddenly, it was over. Flustered, Rebekah pulled back, trying to register the smug look on her fiance's face, connecting the distraction, the foot placement, and the winning score all in only a moment. Her face blushed red with the realization that he'd tricked her, and she pouted angrily.

"I can't believe you!" Takashi smiled more sincerely and picked her up, scooping his arm under her legs and carrying her back to the limousine. Her drowsiness hit her like a wall, so she allowed him to do so. Through heavily lidded eyes, she saw the rest of the host club follow. Still upset at being swindled out of her win, she let herself drift out of conciousness.

~blubububububububTIMEFASTFORW ARDblububububububububub~

Rebekah felt her feet land softly on something plush, closely followed by her head. When she was stilled, the area under her knees and on the small of her back felt cold. Takashi had set her down. Her eyes twitched, about to open, when she felt her shoe slide off. He was getting her ready for bed. She went rigid, still faking sleep, as he finished with her shoes and sock, and moved toward her face.

Carefully, to avoid waking her, he clasped her jacket's zipper in one hand, pulling it down slowly. With the other hand, he lifted her by her back, so he could take the sweater off. She moved in her sleep, arching her back just enought so that her breasts touched his chest. A shiver ran down Mori's spine. He slid the sleeves off of her as quickly as he could, hastily setting her back on the bed. He stood quickly, trying to calm his heavily beating heart. He heard Rebekah shift behind him, and started walking toward the door. A sound like thumping reached his ears, too irregular to be his heart beat. The door half open, he turned to see his fiance reaching for his hand.

"Uh, Takashi-kun, aren't you going to stay with me?" She rubbed her eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them.

His heart thumped. Her tank top's strap was falling over her shoulder. "I..." He looked down the hall toward his own room, where Mitskuni would be waiting for him, "I don't know. I would, but Mitskuni... You know how he is." A tinge of blush covered his face when he saw the mischevious twinkle in Rebekah's eyes.

"Oh... Well, I was just hoping... You know..." She stood closer to him, only separated by the doorway, and ran her finger down his chest with a pout. She let the finger trail to the sensitive skin of his abdomen, feeling his shiver reverbrate through out his body. She sighed and continued, "Thay maybe you'd stay with me... Just for tonight, of course."

"I'm sorry. Maybe later." He leaned to kiss her forehead, smoothly planting a kiss there. She grasped the back of his neck, pulling him to her mouth with eyes wide open. It started as a soft kiss, then grew in intensity.

It was a battle, and both of them knew it. If Rebekah gave in and closed her eyes, it meant Mori would join Mitskuni in their appointed room tonight. If Mori closed his eyes first, however, well...

Rebekah's tongue slid across Takashi's bottom lip, making him shudder. His eyes flickered, attempting to stay open, but failed him when her tounge skimmed the roof of his mouth. In a heave, his breath left him in a moan and his eyes slid closed. He wrapped his hands around her waist, gripping her shirt lustfully. They stumbled together back through the door, Mori slamming it shut with his foot behind them.

Unbeknownst to them, Mitskuni skipped down the hall, about to say good night to Rebekah, when he saw the kiss. He stopped in his tracks, assessing the situation. He gasped when he saw them enter the room, knowing full well what that meant. His face broke into a knowing smile. "Well, it was gonna happen sooner or later, right Usa-chan?" He talked with his bunny and skampered to his own room.

Meanwhile, the pair of lovers ran their hands over each other, never stopping longer than a few moments on one area, intent on memorizing the other's body. Takashi backed Rebekah up to the bed steadily yet slowly, so that when her knees hit the side, she went down gently. When she did, she whipped off her white tank top, revealing a smooth, pale abdomen and, compared to any asian girl he'd ever seen, very large breasts. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and went to work on Takashi's belt and pants. He unzipped his sweater and yanked his own shirt over his head. Rebekah stood, sliding her jeans off and kicking them off to the side of the room.

For a moment they stood, each admiring the other. Then, gently, Mori caressed her face, kissing her lightly and lovingly- while also pushing her down to the bed. She submitted to him, wearing only a pair of white underwear and a matching bra. He stooped over her, one knee on the bed, also covered simply by undergarments. In that bit of time, their love was warm, and calm, and gentle. They both knew though, that as soon as they got far enough...

Takashi ran his left hand along Bekah's leg, leaving a tingling sensation where skin connected to skin. She hoisted her legs aroung his waist without hesitation, ger hands gripping the back of his neck and at the corner of his shoulder blade.

The boy ground his hips into hers, sending electricity through both. Rebekah's back arched at the touch, pushing their chests up against each other. Suddenly, their careful love turned hot, both trying to rip off underwear as quickly as they could. Rebekah's panties were off in no time, Mori's boxers bunched up by his ankles, revealing the pulsing erection that grew by the moment. Heat grew in his cheeks when he leaned forward, hitting her crotch lightly with it. Such a simple touch sent tremors through him.

He carefully ran a finger up and down the slit between Bekah's legs, probing for the small knot of muscle that would send her over the edge. Her hips rocked suddenly, her back arching, and he paused on the sensitive spot. He pressed lightly on it, evoking a flow of juices from her vagina. She gasped and moaned, mouth wide and eyes shut, grasping the blanket around her. Using his finger, Mori spread said juices along the small, slightly dialated opening to lubricate it, then rubbed his own member to coat it with the pre-cum that leaked from his penis.

Carefully, he guided himself to her, both of their breathing coming out in exasperated huffs.

"Ah... Ah! Ah..." Rebekah shuddered as he entered, slowly pressing in. His own voice left him in a strangled cry, wanting desparately to thrust into her. He leaned down, placing his face in the crook of his love's neck, planting a kiss there as he slid his hips forward. She yelped, and Mori felt a new liquid spread over his penis. He thought to himself, _Of course... She's a virgin, so she'll bleed_. No faster did he think it than the thought was gone. He pulled back and pressed back in, feeling Rebekah's chest rise and fall quickly against his own. Her heart beat like a drum.

He worked himself in a motion inside her, desparate to go harder, but not wanting to hurt her. Her back arched, trying to contain the ecstasy brought with sex. He reached behind her, skimming her back for the clasp to her bra. In on fluid motion, his long, graceful fingers had it unclipped and pushed off of her. Her breasts slumped up against her, leaning toward her armpits, but bouncing steadily with the pumping of his penis in her. Her face grew hot and her nipples erect from lust. Mori slowed for a moment, placing his chest on hers so that they lined up at the nipple, then kissed her as he thrust a bit harder.

As before, her tongue skimmed his mouth, teasing him, but not wanting to go in too far. He encouraged her by using is own tongue, flicking at the side of hers to coax her in farther. When she did, he couldn't contain himself any longer. He moved faster, panting heavily through his nose as his fiance sucked on his tongue seductively. He lifted his back, grasping on tit with his hand, squeezing the nipple between his middle and ring finger. Saliva dripped from his tongue when Rebekah released it, moaning from the touch. He took the opportunity to go even harder in her, and attacked her mouth again.

She screamed into him and yanked on a hanful of his hair. His body rocked with lust from that motion, and he pumped into her harder. When he did, she grabbed another fistful and yanked harder. The cycle flowed, her grabbing, his banging, and both of them screaming into each other's mouths.

The climax came quickly. His hips working like a machine, fast as a leopard runs, his body seized in mid-thrust. He hunched over, panting hard as the thick liquid shot into the girl. She moaned loudly. He thrust again, more semen. Again. Five times he shoved his cock into her, five times semes spewed from him into her. Finally, he extracted his member from her body, letting it flop down between his legs to rest. One of his hands still resting on his girl's breast, he leaned down to caress the other nipple with his mouth. He flicked the tip of it with his tongue, pulling a series of noises from Bekah. He did this until she was panting again, then began to nibble it lightly while massaging the other breast with his hand. She fidgeted beneath him, arms above her head, rubbing her hips against his when he hit a good spot.

Soon, he let his idle hand wander to the stretched crevice between her legs, rubbing it carefully with his middle finger. She wimpered to him not to stop, though she squeezed her legs as close to shut as she could get them while they were still around Takashi's waist. Her hips rocked harder, bucking up against the finger while she moaned loudly.

Mori trailed his tongue down her abdomen, and he lifted her legs with his hands. Ignoring the many juices that coated the area, he wedged his tongue inside her and let it wander. Her shouting came out strangled as he picked up on sensitive spots, and began to spin his tongue in a circle. She yelled louder between gasps, trying to clamp her legs shut as the blood rushed to her vagina in waves of ecstacy, but the boy held her legs with strong hands, holding her open as she came. He let it coat his tongue, which he extracted from her crotch and used to kiss her again.

Both of their faces were red, and each was covered in a thin veil of sweat. An eternity seemed to pass as they sat together panting on the bed, trembling from orgasms, and holding hands. Finally, Rebekah made a motion to sit up, placing her arms around her lover's neck. "Takashi..." She rested her forehead on his, "I know this is completely and totally cliche, cheesy even," She dropped her voice to a whisper, "But I love you. With all my heart."

The corners of his lips twisted up in a tired smile, "I love you, too." He gripped her legs again, picking her up and crawling farther up on the bed. She gasped slightly, not ready for another round, but was relieved when he lifted the blankets and set her under them. Neither bothered to suggest turning out the remaining light, it wasn't worth getting up and out of the bed.

Mori cupped Rebekah's head, cradling it to the crook of his neck, petting her hair. She cuddled as close to him as she could get, wrapping one tired leg around his waist. Her jaw stretched wide as she yawned. Takashi followed suit, whispering the melody of a Celine Dion song to her as she drifted out of consciousness "Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you. That is how I know you go on... Far across the distance, and spaces between us, you have come to show you go on... Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on... Once more, you open the door, and you're here in my heart... And my heart will go on... And on..." And with that, he fell asleep, still cradling his true love in his arms.

_**~THE END.~**_

_**~I LOVE YOU ALL SOOO MUCH FOR FAVORITING AND FOLLOWING! Thanks guys. I know this was a pain, but it was worth it. So here you go, the last and final chapter... LEMON~.**_

_**~Oh, and someone messaged me about doing a follow up of this for when Rebekah comes back from her super long trip... If you guys think I should, then I'm up for it! Read, Rate, Review, and I'll see what I can do! :)~**_

_**~(The song he sings at the end is 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion if you were wondering.)~**_


	32. RE: MUST READ!

Hey guys! Well, here's to the MoriXBekah love affair! If you liked it, loved it, hated it, whatever- I'll be posting the continuance of it in a new story soon! Hope you guys like it, so look for it on my profile whenever, kay? It'll be plainly titled 'Tough Love- The Continuation'. I hope you enjoy!. :)

I LOVE YOU ALL! 3

HEY! Wow. So, this new story went up a lot faster and easier than I thought it would, so... That's good! Yeah! So, it's up now! View it on my profile if you liked Tough Love. Thank you all, good night Earth! :)


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